After 48 years of political wrangling and uncertainty, Britain is finally leaving the European Union at 11pm on Friday. To celebrate this historic moment, Boris Johnson will hold an extraordinary TV address from Downing Street. Buildings around Whitehall will also light up and the Union Flag will fly on all the poles in Parliament Square.

As the royal diary shows, though, no member of the Royal Family is scheduled to carry out an official engagement on Brexit day.

This does not entirely rule out the possibility royals will not be seen in public on the day, as they sometimes can carry out engagements unannounced.

The monarchy’s website states: “As head of state, the Queen has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters.”

By convention, other members of the family have to follow suit.

The Prince of Wales, though, has sometimes crossed this line and “meddled” in political matters.

In a report by the Bruges Group – a think tank based in the UK which advocated for a restructuring of Britain’s relationship with the EU – Prince Charles appeared vocal about the bloc before the Maastricht Treaty came into force, calling it a “maddening bureaucracy”.

The report, seen by Express.co.uk, reads: “Prince Charles summarised the views of this campaign when he spoke to the French President at dinner on November 8, 1988.

“’The current emphasis on standardisation and maddening bureaucratic regulations may be necessary for economic success… to make Europe a practical and romantic possibility.

“I believe we should be careful and not be too missionary.

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“After all, Frenchmen are still French; the Italians, Italian; and the British, very British – perhaps too British sometimes for French tastes.’”

The dinner was hosted by French President Mitterand as Charles made an official visit to Paris with Princess Diana in November 1988.

The report added that on important issues of defence, the Prince said at the dinner: “At present, there seems to be a genuine change in the Soviet Union, and it is welcomed.

“But there is a long way to go, and, during what will inevitably be the slow progress of Glasnost and Perestroika, we need to be watchful of our interests and careful of our security.”

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Picking up the Prince of Wales’ argument, the Bruges Group continued: “There is no question that the strength of Europe lies in its diversity.

“The idea of creating a European superpower is an illusion.

“Our cultural, linguistic, and economic differences will never allow Europe to match the singular unity of countries like Japan and the United States.”

When contacted by Express.co.uk about Charles’ alleged statements at the dinner, Clarence House declined to comment.

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