Prince Charles "bloody people", Amid a storm of protest at his petulance, Britain's future king Charles has unwittingly made common cause with America's neo-imperialist current ruler, George W Bush by roundly abusing his country's journalists in a muttered aside picked up by media microphones.Just eight days before he controversially marries his long-time love Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince Charles faced the press at the royals' annual skiing holiday in Switzerland and made headlines for his microphone-relayed stage whisper about the press: "Bloody people".

He went on to describe the BBC's senior, ginger-haired royal correspondent as an absolutely "awful" man, adding that he really hated him. The comments, which set Britain's prickly press by the ears, have caused astonishment and dismay in equal parts.

Charles was in a bad mood after photos of Prince William and his girlfriend were splashed across the British tabloids. William and his live-in college companion Kate Middleton were seen in the Sun and the Daily Mail enjoying themselves at a ski resort in the Swiss Alps.