The Supreme Court is to decide whether the letters Britain's Prince Charles wrote to the government should be made public.

Prince Charles

Prince Charles

The letters were prevented from being published in 2012 by the Attorney General's office, but the UK's highest court has been asked to determine whether it was an unlawful act.

The Guardian newspaper is asking the court to agree to the disclosure of the letters, which were written to government departments between 2004 and 2005.

According to the publication, it has been "pressing the government" for 10 years to see the letters, written to seven government departments.

Conversely, it's been argued that the publication of the so-called "black spider memos" would risk undermining the authority of the prince, who as the heir to the throne, is supposed to remain politically neutral.

Meanwhile, during his recent visit to the US, Prince Charles was told by President Barack Obama that he was more popular in the US than American politicians.

Obama said: "I think it's fair to say that the American people are quite fond of the royal family."

To which Charles replied: "That's awfully nice to know."

Obama then added: "They like them much better than they like their own politicians."