The private impressions of Prince Charles about the countries he visited and his  views about their leaders will remain a secret after a high court ruled that a newspaper should return seven of his travel journals.

The only royal travelogue to be published disclosed that the heir to the British throne regarded the Communist leaders of China as “appalling old waxworks”.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Blackburne granted an injunction banning the publication of the remaining seven handwritten journals, saying that The Mail on Sunday had not advanced “any valid arguments on freedom of expression which outweighed the Prince”.

The Prince now plans to seek damages from Associated Newspapers, publishers of the paper, for revealing what he said about foreign VIPs behind their backs.

A court order prevents the press from disclosing even the names of countries mentioned in the journals, which were leaked by a former employee.

Justice Blackburne, who has read the journals, told the High Court that they contained “private impressions and views”.

The Prince’s observations about his travels featured in a journal that he called “The Handover of Hong Kong or the Great Chinese Takeaway”.

They were leaked by Sarah Goodall, a former secretary in the Prince’s office, in breach of the duty of confidentiality that was written into her contract.

Newspaper sued
After the Hong Kong diary was published, the Prince sued the newspaper for breach of copyright and confidentiality. Three senior Court of Appeal judges upheld his right to keep his written observations private.
Lawyers for the newspaper told the court that it did not oppose injunctions that banned publication of the journals and that required “delivery up” of all the documents.

The newspaper was granted a stay pending a decision next month on whether it should have permission to appeal to the Lords against earlier rulings.