An unpleasant highness

LONDON: Britain's Prince Charles has been given the task by the Royal Family of persuading his grandmother to cut back on her lavish life...

LONDON: Britain8217;s Prince Charles has been given the task by the Royal Family of persuading his grandmother to cut back on her lavish lifestyle after she ran up a huge overdraft, a newspaper report said Sunday.

The Sunday Express8217; said that Charles had devised a plan to pay off an overdraft of four million pounds 6.4 million dollars, 5.6 million euros run up by the 98-year-old Queen Mother at the royal bank Coutts.Citing unindentified royal aides, it said this included staff cutbacks, mothballing one of the Queen Mother8217;s five homes 8212; the Castle of Mey in the North of Scotl and 8212; and selling rarely-used cars and some of her 10 racehorses.

Most controversially, there is a plan to move her from her central London home, Clarence House, into an apartment at St James8217; Palace, according to the weekly tabloid.

One insider was quoted as saying: quot;Charles has been asked to approach his grandmother to discuss with her about how to cut down on her expenses.quot;quot;He is reckoned to be the closest to her and so he hasdrawn the short straw. The Queen is reluctant to approach her mother with plans for cutbacks.quot;

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, has the biggest personal staff of any member of the royal family apart from the Queen, with permanent staff at all of her five homes, said the newspaper.

Some of these are Left empty for most of the year, including Walmer Castle, in Kent, South-East England, which she visits only for a few days a year in her capacity as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

She entertains lavishly without a second glance at the bill and spends large amounts of money on clothes and jewellery, the tabloid added.

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Her mountain of debt is despite an annual income from the Civil List 8212; public money given to the senior Royals 8212; of 643,000 pounds a year.

Claims about the Queen Mother8217;s overdraft last week prompted unprecedented criticism of her supposed extravagance in normally pro-royal tabloids.But the Express backed the 98-year-old, saying the rest of the family should bankroll herspending.

quot;Surely her family 8212; which is still extremely wealthy 8212; could do its duty by Her and subsidise a little extravagance in her old age,quot; it urged in an editorial.