In a strongly-worded statement on Friday, the Prince said it would be "ludicrous" to believe the "outrageous and hurtful" claims made in the LWT documentary, Charles At 50, to be broadcast on Sunday evening.

LWT would not name the Palace official who gave them a series of briefings but said that key points had been double-checked.

"We specifically asked for information on the Prince of Wales's thinking on the future of the monarchy. ... The key points in the briefing were reiterated at least twice and were checked again as recently as this week," said a spokeswoman.

Royal biographer astonished

Prince Charles' biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, came to the prince's defence saying the abdication claim was "quite fantastic".

Jonathan Dimbleby: Charles is "entirely mortified" by "quite fantastic" claims

"I can't believe for a moment that he would have allowed himself to speak of this, to intimate this, in any way to intimate friends, let alone to a senior aide, however much he trusted that aide," Mr Dimbleby told BBC Radio's Today programme.

"I find it absolutely astonishing and out of character."

He described the relationship between the prince and the Queen as "reverential" and that he would never even think