Prince Charles diary fight goes to Appeal Court

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) A legal battle between Prince Charles and a newspaper over unauthorised publication of his private journals, in which he called Chinese diplomats ''appalling old waxworks'', went to the Court of Appeal today.

If Associated Newspapers, owners of the Mail on Sunday, wins the case, it could lead to the publication of further potentially embarrassing revelations from seven other of the prince's journals in the paper's possession.

In court, lawyers for the newspaper group asked the judges to overturn a High Court ruling earlier this year that rejected a claim that it was in the public interest to publish the journals.

Mark Warby for Associated Newspapers said the High Court judge had been wrong to hold that the Prince had a reasonable expectation of his journals remaining private.

He added the judge should not have said, without a fully contested hearing, that Charles' rights to privacy outweighed the paper's rights to freedom of expression.

The High Court judgement in March declared that publication of the journals relating to Britain's 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China infringed the Prince's confidentiality and copyright.

Charles had titled the passage in the published journal as ''The Handover of Hong Kong'' or ''The Great Chinese Takeaway.'' Documents submitted today on behalf of the prince argued Charles had ''a reasonable and proper expectation'' that his journals would remain private, being seen only by trusted staff and a small circle of friends and family.

''The private interest of the Mail on Sunday in a scoop is not to be confused with the public interest in the publication of material which is otherwise private,'' they said.

The hearing is expected to last two days with a judgment almost certainly be reserved for a written decision to be given at a later date.

REUTERS PB KN1734