Charles flying home to face media storm

Britian's Prince of Wales is on his way back to the UK to face the escalating crisis surrounding him.

Charles was effectively shielded from the media as he carried out a tour thousands of miles away in Oman.

He remained silent as he attended a Remembrance Day Service in the Sultanate when asked by a TV crew whether he was looking forward to returning to the UK.

The Prince simply turned his back and got into his car after initially saying he was "delighted" to hear about the birth of a baby girl to the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

The British Airways 767 used for his official visit to Oman and India headed home to Britain shortly after the sombre ceremony in a Muscat cemetery.

Reports say he may be contemplating a personal TV appearance to quash allegations that he was seen in a compromising incident.

A Clarence House spokeswoman said that although no firm plans had been made, they had not ruled it out.

Meanwhile it was also reported that the man who last week put the Prince of Wales publicly at the centre of the crisis had once questioned his sexuality.

Sir Michael Peat, his private secretary, issued a statement to deny allegations of the "incident".

But the Prince's former key aide, Mark Bolland, told the News of the World that Sir Michael asked him about the Prince's sexuality a year ago.

The Prince's spokeswoman described Sir Michael as "Mr Transparent" with nothing to hide.

She said: "Sir Michael is very open, honest and direct. He has already made clear that he spoke to the Prince about the rumours circulating and it should not be any surprise that he would have first talked to Mark Bolland, who was then a senior member of staff, before approaching the Prince."