Another day, another UK Royal scandal swept under the rug.
The trouble is brewing at King Charles’s Prince’s Foundation, a charity that purports to ‘provides holistic solutions to challenges facing the world today’.
It also champions ‘a sustainable approach to how we live our lives and build our communities’, and it runs ‘a diverse program of education and training for all ages and backgrounds’.
Despite such lofty aspirations, the scandal-plagued institution is again in the headlines for a ‘Cash-for-Honors’ scandal involving a wealthy Saudi businessman.
And, once again, the Windsors can count on the absolute inaction of law enforcement when it comes to them.
Associated Press reported:
“London police said Monday they would take no action on allegations that people associated with one of King Charles III’s charities offered to help a Saudi billionaire secure a knighthood and British citizenship in return for donations.
The Metropolitan Police Service began an investigation into the matter after the Times of London reported that a longtime aide to Charles had suggested the then-Prince of Wales would support a Saudi citizen’s request for the honors in return for up to 1.5 million pounds ($2 million) in donations to the charity, The Prince’s Foundation.
The police department declared that it reached its decision after reviewing documents provided by the Prince’s Foundation and by the Times, and also consulted with prosecutors before concluding its ‘investigation’.
“’After careful consideration of the information received as a result of the investigation to date, the Met has concluded that no further action will be taken in this matter,’ police said in a statement.”
Charles’ representatives have clarified that ‘he wasn’t aware of any offers to bestow honors or expedite citizenship in return for donations to his charities’.
“’Following the conclusion of its own independent investigation and governance review last year, the charity is moving forward with a continued focus on delivering the education and training programs for which it has been established’, the foundation said.”
The decision, while predictable given the usual behavior of the UK police regarding the Royals, has sparked a wave of criticism, as you would expect.
The Guardian reported:
“Asked about the Metropolitan police decision to take no further action in the cash-for-honors allegation involving King Charles’s Prince’s Foundation, the author and former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said wearily: ‘I’m not actually surprised. To have taken action would have offended important people in society’.”
Author Norman Baker was the one to write to the Met Police in 2021, calling for an investigation after he read reports about a longtime senior aide of Charles offering a Saudi billionaire help to secure a knighthood and UK citizenship in return for hefty donations.
“That offer, made in 2017 by Michael Fawcett, in a letter to Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, made it clear the Prince’s Foundation (founded by the king, who remains its president) would be “happy and willing” to use its influence to help smooth the way for Mahfouz.”
Charles’ charities, it is said, operate independently of the monarch in matters of fundraising and governance.
“And yet it is not the only embarrassing episode involving the king’s charities and wealthy donors. Last year, the Sunday Times reported that between 2011 and 2015 the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund accepted 3m euros in cash stuffed into a suitcase and a Fortnum & Mason carrier bag from a billionaire Qatari sheikh.”
The last two chairs of the Prince’s Foundation resigned in disgrace: Douglas Connell resigned in 2021 after a £100,000 donation from a wealthy Russian donor raising doubts over the provenance of the cash. A mere two months later, Fawcett resigned in the wake of the cash-for-honors allegations.
This comes as the new Monarch tries to impose his style amid a row with his brother Prince Andrew, in a constant siege over his Jeffrey Epstein ties.
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