Palace staff to help Labour think-tank on future of royalty

Buckingham Palace is to cooperate with a Labour Party think-tank investigating the future of the monarchy in an attempt to convince the public that it wants to be more open.

The Royal Household has indicated that it plans to be "helpful" and answer questions on the role of the Queen put by members of a commission formed to study the Royal Family. It is to allow members of the ten-strong Fabian Society commission, including academics and Labour peers, to talk to royal officials in Buckingham Palace and even to gain access to royal papers.

The decision will be seen as an attempt to shore up support for the Royal Family, which has been hit by a series of controversies, notably the Queen's last-minute intervention that caused the trial of the royal butler Paul Burrell to collapse.

St James's Palace has also responded positively to a request for co-operation. A spokesman for the Prince of Wales said that it would attempt to answer any questions members of the inquiry team had.

The Fabian report is expected to examine whether the heir to the throne should regularly correspond with ministers about government policy. Prince Charles was criticised last year for reportedly bombarding ministers with letters expressing his views.

Penny Russell-Smith, the Queen's press secretary, said: "We will make any facts available, provided they let us know what they wish to know."

The offer to co-operate with the inquiry has delighted and surprised the Fabian Society, which was known in the past for its calls for reform of the monarchy.

It is expected to ask for detailed information on the Queen's financial status and the monarchy's position on reform, including the link between church and state. The inquiry, which will be watched closely by ministers, will also examine the charitable role of members of the Royal Family.

Michael Jacobs, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said he was pleased that the Palace was not planning to close its doors. "We welcome the Palace's willingness to speak to us. This is a serious inquiry about an issue of great constitutional importance to Britain and we are pleased that the Palace has recognised the importance of public debate," he said.

The inquiry, set up last year, will examine whether first-born women should be allowed to accede to the throne. It will also look at whether the royal prerogative, one of the main sources of the monarch's power, should be removed. It will consider whether the Civil List should be whittled away for minor royals and study the Queen's role as the supreme governor of the Church of England.

The Fabian Commission, whose members include Waheed Alli, the Labour peer and television executive, and Sir Michael Wheeler-Booth, former clerk of the parliaments, wrote to Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace before Christmas asking for co-operation.

Yesterday a spokesman for Prince Charles said the position of St James's Palace was the same as that of Buckingham Palace. "We want to give them help where we can. The basic idea is that we would try to be helpful," he said.