The News of the World's royal editor was last night charged in connection with the inquiry into alleged phone-tapping of staff in Prince Charles' household.

Senior journalist Clive Goodman, 48, from Putney, and Glenn Mulcaire, 35, from Sutton, both London, were released on police bail.

Mr Goodman is accused of nine offences, including plotting with Glenn Mulcaire to intercept voicemail messages.

Both he and Mr Mulcaire have been charged with conspiring to intercept communications by accessing voicemail messages on eight occasions from January to this month.

They are due to appear at Horseferry Road Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

It was also revealed yesterday that Scotland Yard is investigating whether other high-profile public figures have had their mobile phone voicemail messages intercepted.

It is believed that at least one Cabinet minister, but not the Prime Minister, could be affected as well as senior politicians, celebrities and well-known footballers.

Max Clifford said he had been contacted by his mobile phone provider O2 and told of "irregularities" in his voicemail, although he said it may have been "just an amazing coincidence".

O2 passed the information to police, although no connection with Scotland Yard's inquiry has been confirmed.

Mr Clifford will reportedly discuss the matter with officers in the next few days.

Tom Bradby, ITV's political editor, has told of the moment he and Prince William realised mobile phone voicemail messages of royal aides could have been intercepted.

He said the News of the World printed details of a meeting he had arranged with the Prince before it had even taken place. He and William eventually met and discussed the story, with the Prince raising concerns about another article about a meeting with his knee surgeon.

Mr Bradby, a former ITV News royal correspondent, said he was "pretty surprised" to discover details of the meeting and what was to be discussed in the News of the World. He said: "When he and I hooked up, we both looked at each other and said: 'Well how on earth did that get out?' and we worked out that only he and I and two people incredibly close to him had actually known about it."

Mr Bradby said he and the Prince came to the conclusion that "it must be something like breaking into mobile answering machine messages".

Mr Bradby said William's chief of staff relayed concerns to the police and a small investigation was conducted.

He added: "What they discovered then alarmed them enough to hand it to IT specialists from the anti-terrorist police who looked much more broadly."

The men arrested were held under Section 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, under which the potential penalties are a maximum of two years in jail, a fine or both.

A number of addresses have already been searched, including the offices of News International, in Wapping, east London, as well as in Sutton and Chelsea.

Yesterday, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Sir Christopher Meyer, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the commission would "reserve the right to investigate the case at the end of the legal process".

He said the Press was bound by the commission's code of conduct "not to intercept private or mobile telephone calls, messages or e-mails and a whole bunch of other things which come under the heading of clandestine devices and subterfuge".