Prince Charles: A history of political controversy
Prince Charles may have attracted controversy by reportedly comparing the actions of Russia to those of Nazi Germany, but it is far from the first time he has found himself involved in a political row.
From homeopathy to flooding, these are some of the heir to the throne's previous political interventions.
Britain's flooding "tragedy"
During a visit to the severely-flooded Somerset Levels earlier this year, the Prince of Wales appeared to criticise authorities' response to the crisis.
Charles was captured on ITV cameras telling local residents: "The tragedy is nothing has happened for so long".
"Unwelcome" Chelsea barracks intervention
In 2010 Charles attracted criticism for expressing strong opinions on a multimillion-pound plan for Chelsea Barracks in London, telling the prime minister of Qatar - who was chair of the developers - that his ''heart sank'' when he saw the design by architect Lord Rogers.
A high court judge described the intervention as "unexpected and unwelcome" and argued that the comments had an impact in the eventual shelving of the project.
Meetings with ministers
In August last year, it was reported that Charles had met with members of the Cabinet 36 times in private since the 2010 general elections, including seven private meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron.
According to various newspaper reports, the future King was said in one instance to have lobbied Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in favour of homeopathy.
While the Palace said Charles was simply doing "his duty", critics - such as Republic chief executive Graham Smith - claimed the regent was pursuing his own interests.
Legal fight over letters
The Prince of Wales also remains at the centre of a legal bid by the Guardian, who hope to make public a series of letters written to a number of British government departments between 2004 and 2005.
In their attempts to access the correspondence through the Freedom of Information Act, the newspaper says it wants to shed more light "'on the way the heir to the throne seeks to influence government ministers even though he holds no elected position''.
Though the High Court ruled in the Guardian's favour, Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, has attempted to block the publication of the letters, saying that it would undermine the principle of the heir to the throne being politically neutral.