Cases of cash for Charles ‘would never happen now’
THE Prince of Wales would never again accept suitcases stuffed with cash, a Royal source insisted yesterday.
Charles faces criticism after it emerged he accepted charitable donations – reportedly totalling £2.5million and some of it in a suitcase – from a former Qatari prime minister.
But a royal source said such incidents have not happened in the past half decade, adding: ‘That is then and this is now.’
The prince reportedly accepted the donations for his charity the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim between 2011 and 2015.
The source revealed the money was ‘passed immediately to his
‘Contexts change over the years’
[Charles’] charities, and it was his charities who decided to accept the money – that is a decision for them. And they did so, and as they confirmed, it followed all the right processes. The auditors looked at it. The Prince of Wales operates on advice. Situations, contexts change over the years.’
The source added: ‘For more than half a decade, with the situation as it has evolved, this has not happened, and it would not happen again.’
On one occasion a round £900,000 was said to have been handed over in carrier bags from luxury shop Fortnum and Mason, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Another time, the sheikh was said to have been in a private meeting with the prince at Clarence House, in 2015, when he gave him £850,000 in a holdall.
The PWCF – which was founded in 1979 with a mission to transform lives and build sustainable communities – awards grants to UK-registered non-profit organisations to deliver projects in the UK, the Commonwealth and overseas.
The latest questions come after the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into cash-for-honours allegations involving the Prince of Wales’ former close confidant, Michael Fawcett.
A Clarence House spokesman said: ‘ Charitable donations received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim were passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.’