Charles ‘accepted €3m of donations in cash’

The Prince of Wales accepted large cash donations totalling €3m (£2.6m) from a former Qatari prime minister, the Sunday Times has reported.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The newspaper claimed the prince personally accepted the cash donations for his charity the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) between 2011 and 2015 from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim who was prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013.

Clarence House said the donations were “passed immediately” to one of the prince’s charities and that “appropriate governance” was carried out.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“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,” a statement said.

Prince Charles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales

According to the Sunday Times, a donation of €1m (£860,000) was handed over during a meeting at the prince’s residence, Clarence House.

PWCF has been contacted for comment by the PA news agency but its chairman Sir Ian Cheshire told the newspaper “there was no failure of governance”.

The charity, 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, Commonwealth and overseas.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It comes as another of Charles’s charities, the Prince’s Foundation, is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police over an alleged cash-for-honours scandal.

The prince, and his close friend Michael Fawcett, were formally reported to the Met Police last September when allegations of cash-for-honours first surfaced in newspaper reports.

Mr Fawcett, who has since resigned as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation, has been accused of promising to help a Saudi billionaire donor receive British citizenship and a knighthood.

Clarence House has previously said that the prince had “no knowledge” of the alleged cash-for-honours.

The Prince’s Foundation champions sustainability and runs education and training programmes.

Related topics: