MEMBERS of Prince Charles’s staff have been secretly working full-time in key Whitehall departments linked to his interests.

One employee spent two years at the Cabinet Office while another was seconded to a rural policy team at Defra, the environment and food ministry, for 14 months.

Several current and former ministers said they had not been informed of the placements and expressed surprise and irritation at not being told.

One minister said: “There are questions that need to be answered about who agreed it. I think it’s undemocratic.

“It raises questions about whether Prince Charles is exceeding his position as a constitutional monarch in waiting. There is a question about what they are doing and whether they are influencing policy.”

Ministers said they were planning