Charles accused of wasting police time with no-show at Crathie Kirk

• Twenty police officers assigned to Royal protection left standing

• No reason given why the Royal couple cancelled their visit

• Grampian police estimate it costs 1.2m a year to police the Royals

Key Quote:

"The prince will be leaving himself vulnerable to accusations of a lack of consideration and being oblivious to the trouble and expense the service has to go to to accommodate his presence." SNP leader Alex Salmond

PRINCE Charles was last night accused of wasting police time after cancelling his plans to turn up for a church service near Balmoral, where officers had been deployed to protect him.

The prince and his wife, the Duchess of Rothesay, were scheduled to make their traditional trip to Crathie Kirk for the Sunday service while on a visit to the royal hideaway nearby at Balmoral.

But they called off their plans to attend the morning service at the last minute - leaving at least 20 officers from Grampian Police without a role.

A spokesman for Prince Charles refused to apologise for the diversion of police resources. He said: "It's their private time, so it's not like a public engagement. There was no particular significance in the Prince of Wales not going to church.

"Although he goes to church regularly, he doesn't go to church every Sunday."

SNP leader Alex Salmond, who represents Banff and Buchan, said: "If there was a good reason for them not going, we should be told - not necessarily what it was, but if there was a good reason.

"The prince will be leaving himself vulnerable to accusations of a lack of consideration and being oblivious to the trouble and expense the service has to go to to accommodate his presence.

"It may be a private visit, but it's one with public implications. It's not for us to determine whether he goes to church or not, but the authorities should be informed so expenses can be kept to a minimum.

"Clarence House, in the interests of the prince's good name and reputation, should display more sensitivity."

One local onlooker said: "There were a lot of police there - there were barriers up and signs. Then one officer came over at the back of 10am and said they wouldn't be coming to church today. A lot of the police just shrugged their shoulders and looked pretty fed up.

"I saw at least 20, between uniformed officers, plain clothes guys and dog handlers. It's a huge extravagance when all these cops turn up to protect what turns out to be a small group of parishioners."

A spokesman for Grampian Police yesterday confirmed the royal couple had been expected at the church - but refused to discuss details or the cost of the operation.

Earlier this year, Grampian Police was revealed to have the lowest clear-up rate of crimes of any of Scotland's eight forces.

Only 61 per cent of offences committed between April and December 2005 were solved.

In 2004, senior Grampian officers estimated that policing the Royal Family, who spend only a few weeks on their Scottish estates, costs the force more than 1.2m a year.

The cost included a team of 40 officers and sparked controversy as the force admitted it was struggling to find money to carry out normal duties.

Mr Salmond said no-one grudged the royals the highest levels of professional protection. But he added: "Many of my constituents have great difficulty in getting help from the police because of the shortage of staff in the front line.

"It's unfair that the cost of Royal protection should bear so heavily on a small police force."