19-11-2003,05 :31 - Prince Charles has not been to the US for the last six years on the advice of the British Foreign Office, The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Prince of Wales has strong pro-Palestinian views and is privately critical of US policy in the Middle East conflict, according to the report.

British diplomats fear that Prince Charles's views might have created embarrassment on a visit to Washington.

A source, who is familiar with the discussions over possible visits by the Prince of Wales to the US, said: "It [concern over Charles travelling to the US] revolves around the perception that the Prince of Wales is fairly Arabist. He has, in American terms and international terms, fairly dodgy views on Israel.

"He thinks American policy on the Middle East is complete madness and he used to express that quite loudly to a lot of people, including ministers and various ambassadors."

The source added: "The system basically thinks that he is unsound on America and he has not really wanted to go anyway. He doesn't much like American culture." (Albawaba.com)