Black spider memos

The "black spider" memos are letters and memorandums written by Charles III of the United Kingdom, during his tenure as Prince of Wales, to British government ministers and politicians over several years. As the modern British monarch remains politically neutral by convention, the letters were controversial because of Charles' then-position as eldest child of the British monarch Queen Elizabeth II and heir apparent to the British throne.

The letters were sent by Charles in a private capacity, but concerns have been raised that they may represent the exercise of undue influence over British government ministers. Issues about which Charles has expressed public views include farming, genetic modification, global warming, social deprivation, planning and architecture. This led the press to label Charles as a "meddling prince". The content of the "black spider" letters, named after Charles' distinctive handwriting, was known only anecdotally and from memoirs and leaks, until 13 May 2015 when the Information Tribunal ordered the release of most of the correspondence.

These events were set in motion in 2010, when The Guardian journalist Rob Evans made an application under British Freedom of Information legislation to see the Prince's 2004 and 2005 letters to ministers. After several legal cases the application was eventually refused by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve in October 2012, and the case was the subject of an appeal in the Supreme Court which, in March 2015, ruled against the government's decision, and allowed for the later publication of the letters.

Upon their release, the memos were variously described in the press as "underwhelming" and "harmless", and The Daily Telegraph claimed that their release had "backfired on those who seek to belittle him".