Prince Charles’ Secret Memos to be Aired

The U.K.’s supreme court on Thursday ordered the release of Prince Charles’s secret letters to government officials. Known as the black spider memos, because of the prince’s scrawled handwriting, they include correspondence with seven government departments. The Guardian has been battling for the release of these memos for a decade, because it says they will shed light on whether the monarchy is maintaining its mandated political neutrality. A lower court blocked the letters’ release in 2012, and the prince’s representatives said they are “disappointed the principle of privacy had not been upheld.”