LONDON: The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has said in a birthday interview he will not be a meddling king when he replaces his mom, Queen Elizabeth II.
Charles, who as the monarch's eldest son is the Prince of Wales, is about to celebrate his 70th birthday on November 14, and made the comment in a media interview, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.
He has a reputation of making his views known on a range of subjects ranging from architecture, the environment, climate change to natural health remedies such as homeopathy.
In a documentary for the BBC, the prince said he will stop speaking out on topics he feels strongly about when he becomes king, adding that "he is not that stupid".
Prince Charles said the idea he would continue making interventions as king was nonsense, adding he would have to operate within constitutional parameters.
Queen Elizabeth never comments on political matters, though what she says at her regular meetings with serving prime ministers is never reported or publicly disclosed.
According to the BBC, in the documentary, Prince Charles was asked about his campaigning, which some people described as "meddling".
Documentary film-maker John Bridcut, who followed the prince for 12 months, said Prince Charles "bridled a bit" at the use of the word "meddling" and instead preferred to think of his interventions as "motivating".
The heir to the throne said: "If it's meddling to worry about the inner cities as I did 40 years ago, then if that's meddling I'm proud of it."
He added the roles of Prince of Wales and king were completely separate.