The letters from the heir to the throne to his mother's ministers strike a tone of suggestion rather than royal command, occasionally apologise for their length and detail, and cover topics the prince is known to care passionately about, such as conservation, alternative health remedies and farming.

They have been released after a decade-long legal fight, to the dismay of the government and the prince.

The British government was been forced to publish 27 letters including 10 from Prince Charles, and 17 in reply, sent between September 2004 and April 2005. The letters have been dubbed "black spider memos" because of the prince's distinctive handwriting – though the letters released were mostly typed.

In the memos:

- Prince Charles wrote to Mr Blair about the "anxieties developing amongst beef farmers" over the removal of farm subsidies, and suggested ways the government could "ameliorate" its Mid Term Review to support farmers. He also complained of bureaucratic problems affecting dairy farmers.

- He complained about delays to the procurement of new surveillance aircraft, saying "I fear this is just one more example of where our Armed Forces are being asked to do an extremely challenging job … without the necessary resources". After a long, detailed reply, Mr Blair wrote in conclusion "I hope this is of some help and I much enjoyed your speech to the dinner on climate change, yours ever, Tony."

- In a subsequent letter, Prince Charles complained about the "intellectual dishonesty" of the "badger lobby" who opposed a cull, before again arguing on behalf of farmers and "my anxiety about this country's lack of self-sufficiency in staple foods such as meat and vegetables".

- He also argued against a herbal medicines law that had "effectively outlawed the use of certain herbal extracts", saying it was "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

- In a letter to the health minister, the prince said it was "time to return to the fray" on hospital redevelopment, arguing for better design quality in new hospitals and the disposal of old ones. "I have witnessed so many failed opportunities to create imaginative, and innovative heritage-led regeneration initiatives," he wrote, saying he wanted "truly sustainable communities and [to] avoid the mistakes of the past". He asked if they could discuss the matter further, "at the risk of being a complete bore about this".

- In a letter to the environment minister, he complained about illegal fishing, especially of the Patagonian toothfish, and suggested the Royal Navy get involved to go after illegal fishing boats. "Until that trade is stopped there is little hope for the poor old albatross," he said.

- He wrote to the secretary of state, proposing a new educational charity, saying there was a "very real sense" that there was a gap in the teaching of English and history.

- He also invited the secretary of state to a conference on local housing and urban design.

Other memos cover minor letters of congratulation, the organisation of future events in involving the prince, or the explanation by ministers of projects in which the prince had shown an interest.

Prince Charles declined to comment on the letters when asked by a British TV journalist on Wednesday.

However, in a statement a Clarence House spokesperson said the prince believes he should have a right to communicate privately.

"The publication of private letters can only inhibit his ability to express the concerns and suggestions which have been put to him in the course of his travels and meetings," the statement said.

"Over the past 40 years in his role as heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales has visited countless places and met numerous people from every walk of life. He carries out over 600 engagements a year.

"This gives him a unique perspective, which has often led to him identifying issues which he believes he, or his charities, or his other connections, can help address.

"Sometimes this leads him to communicate his experience or, indeed, his concerns or suggestions to Ministers, from all Governments, of whatever party, either in meetings or in writing.

"Government Ministers have often encouraged him to do so, and many have welcomed The Prince's views and ideas on a range of subjects.  There are examples of this in the correspondence that has been made public. "

The Guardian newspaper waged a long legal campaign to overturn the government's veto on publication.

The government fought against the letters' release, with then-attorney general Dominic Grieve saying they held the prince's "most deeply held personal views and beliefs".

He said the letters "contain remarks about public affairs which would in my view, if revealed, have had a material effect upon the willingness of the government to engage in correspondence with the Prince of Wales, and would potentially have undermined his position of political neutrality".

After his veto was overturned in the Court of Appeal last year – a decision upheld this March in the Supreme Court – a delay was granted to redact personal information of people other than the prince.

Former foreign office minister Denis MacShane told the BBC they were like "letters from a retired bishop who spends a lot of the time reading [right-wing newspapers] the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph".

"When you read them it was a bit of 'oh dear oh dear oh dear' … the ones to the Foreign Office were regarded more of an oddity and 'chuckle time'."

They were treated 'en passant' at meetings but they were not fretted over, he said. However, he did not think it was appropriate for them to be published.

"No member of the royal family will ever dare write to the government again, nobody in any position of status … will ever dare write to the government again for fear their private views will be front page news. I think it's silly of the press to insist this should be in the public domain."

Former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond has also defended the letters, writing in his recent memoir "he does indeed write and has views on all sorts of subjects - and it's not terrible at all. Indeed, most of his opinions are pretty sensible, and ministers can either accept or reject them as they wish."

Since The Guardian's legal action, the law has been changed. Now any correspondence involving the monarch or heir to the throne cannot be made public for 20 years, or five years after the writer's death, whichever is longer.

A Freedom of Information expert told Fairfax Media that this is now being exploited to conceal correspondence from media Freedom of Information requests, by copying in a royal palace on sensitive documents.

On Wednesday, the government briefed journalists that they would again amend FOI laws to make it easier for ministers to veto the release of information – not only royal letters.