Watchdog warning on street party charity set up by Queen’s grandson

A CHARITY set up by Princess Anne’s son to oversee a street party for the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations was branded ‘high risk’ by regulators after his company was awarded the contract as organisers.

The Patron’s Fund, of which Peter Phillips was a trustee, handed SEL UK, where he is managing director, the task of organising the event involving 10,000 guests outside Buckingham Palace. But the Charity Commission raised concerns over a conflict of interest for Mr Phillips and is subjecting the fund to extra monitoring.

Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News through Freedom of Information requests show that the commission gave the Patron’s Fund a ‘red’ risk rating – the highest possible. The files reveal that it was worried that Mr Phillips could get ‘personal benefit’ from the event and sought written assurances from the fund’s trustees that any conflicts were being appropriately managed.

Mr Phillips stepped down as a trustee after SEL was awarded the contract but said it was always his intention to step away once charitable status was granted. The contract fee was undisclosed but SEL has arranged a ‘not-for-profit agreement’ with the Palace. Although the high risk flag was removed once the fund became a charity, it will undergo extra monitoring.

The June event, for which the 10,000 guests will be charged £150 each, is expected to make £4million, which will be donated to 600 charities supported by the Queen.

Sir Stuart Etherington, chairman of the Patron Fund’s trustees, said he was confident that the fund would meet its charitable aims and would bring in ‘external charity experts’ to help distribute funds.

The Charity Commission said it had been asked by the fund to examine any ‘potential for a conflict of interest’ and it ‘did not have any concerns about how the [contract] decision was made’.