Prince Charles’ car under attack from tuition fees protesters

LONDON - A car the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were in was caught up in a riot and came under attack from students who were protesting the rise in tuition fees.

Both were travelling to the Royal Variety Performance in central London when the Rolls-Royce they were in was attacked by demonstrators, who kicked and threw white paint and bottles, shattering a window.

According to a Clarence House spokesman, the Prince and Duchess were “unharmed” and continued with their engagement at the London Palladium.

The attack had taken place on Regent Street at the end of a day of protest that turned into a riot and left 10 police officers injured, six of them seriously.

“The police cars at the front of the convoy drove straight into crowds at the top of Regent Street,” the Telegraph quoted Matthew Maclachlan, who witnessed the attack on the Prince’s car, as saying.

“Charles and Camilla’s car ran into such a concentration of people that it had to stop. It was stationary for a lot of the time, then would squeeze forward an inch.

“We couldn’t believe it. The car had really big windows so Charles was very much on display,” he revealed.

Maclachlan said people were trying to talk to Charles about tuition fees, but when more realised what was happening the crowd began to grow, and some started throwing bottles and litterbins at the car.

“It must have been frightening for them but, throughout it all, Charles was really calm and smiling at everyone. Camilla was beaming too,” he said.

“He was holding his hands out towards them in a gesture that said, ‘I’m innocent’,” he added.

Although the rear window on the Prince’s side of the car was shattered, it did not break. (ANI)