Prince Charles wins apology as Chelsea Barracks case is settled

A property tycoon today "unreservedly apologised" to Prince Charles for dragging him into a High Court battle over the collapse of the Chelsea Barracks development.

Christian Candy claimed the Qatari royal family, with whom he was working, unilaterally dropped plans for the £3billion scheme after Charles attacked its modernist design.

Mr Candy sued for breach of contract. During the case private letters between Charles and the Emir of Qatar were divulged, which are likely to have embarrassed both parties.

Mr Justice Vos ruled last month that there had been a breach, but said, despite this, Mr Candy was not entitled to the £68.5 million value of the deal. Today Mr Candy's company, CPC Group, agreed to a last-minute full and final "strictly confidential" settlement with the Qataris.

A statement said he "expressed his regret at having brought the name of HRH The Prince of Wales into a contractual dispute and he apologised unreservedly to his Royal Highness for any offence this may have caused."

No details were available on the size of the settlement or whether Mr Candy recouped the hundreds of thousands of pounds he spent on hiring leading barristers to fight his case.

Mr Justice Voss ruled that anyone wishing to inspect the settlement would require the permission of a judge, and he and both the parties would need to be informed.