Despite concern that documents would undermine the Prince's political neutrality by exposing his influence on parliament, most of the letters seem rather harmless, as some had suspected. In fact, some of the letters put him in a pretty positive light.
A letter to the minister of state for the environment in 2004, Elliot Morley, for instance, highlights the Prince's concern about the plight of the albatross, a seabird that is threatened by a decline in fish stocks due to overfishing.
Here's a particularly compassionate snippet:
The Prince added that he was looking forward to the Royal Commission's report on sustainable fishing.
"I hear on my own grapevine that may be quite hard-hitting, which can only be a good thing and I just hope that the powers-that-be, and the general public, take note of its findings," he wrote.
Coincidentally, a former palace chef recently told Racked that the Prince is surprisingly conscious about the environment. He prefers to eat homegrown fruits and vegetables and enjoys milk that comes from the royals' own cows and meat that comes from the lambs they raised.