More Letters Released: Prince Charles Was An Advocate For Complementary Medicine

As more of Prince Charles’ “black spider memo” letters are released under England’s Freedom of Information laws, it has come to light that Charles has been an advocate for complementary medicines — in particular, homeopathy. Homeopathy is a controversial natural therapy that uses minute doses of substances (many of which are harmful to the body in larger quantities) to assist in healing. Scientific studies have been conducted on homeopathy, and while there may be anecdotal evidence to suggest homeopathy works, most studies put the results down to a placebo effect rather than an actual result of the treatment.

According to Prince Charles in the letters released, he is of the opinion that there should be options for complimentary medicine available through England’s NHS (National Health Service).

“The only reason I persist over integrated healthcare – despite waves of invective over the years from parts of the medical and scientific establishment – is because I cannot bear people suffering unnecessarily when a complementary approach could make a real difference.”

While it is uncertain if homeopathy really works, Prince Charles pointed to “effectiveness gaps” in the released letters that could be used by patients as cheaper alternatives that may work. Charles spoke to both the current secretary of state for health, Andy Burnham, and his predecessor, Alan Johnson, about his concerns over England’s health system and the potential need for extra provisions for complimentary medicines.

As more letters are released, it has come to light that Prince Charles felt there was an “anti-homeopathic campaign” developing even though referrals to the Royal London homeopathic hospital were on the increase.

As well as homeopathy, as more letters are released, it has been revealed Charles also wrote to Labour ministers about the state of the world’s rainforests, eco-towns, and, of all things, hospital food.

These letters were released under England’s Freedom of Information Act at the request of the Guardian. A first batch of letters was released last month, but there was a hold on more letters being released until the case for the letters release went through the Supreme Court. The original batch of letters date from 2004 and 2005. This current batch of released letters date from 2006 to 2009 and contain a total of 17 letters.

The Guardian’s battle to have more letters released has spanned a 10-year legal campaign and a cost of more than £400,000 ($614,000 US, approximately). The courts finally deemed the letters could be released after “declaring that an attempt by the state to keep them concealed was unlawful.” The Guardian claimed that the public had a right to know the extent of “lobbying at [the] highest political level” and that Charles’ privacy was not as important as the public’s knowledge of what was occurring between their country’s heads of states.

As a result of changes to the Freedom of Information Act in the UK since the Guardian pressed the issue, there will be no more letters released pertaining to Prince Charles and English politicians.

[Image credit: Getty Images / WPA Pool / Pool]