Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Cash for honours: Prince Charles sent 'thank you' letter to Saudi

Cash for honours: Prince Charles sent 'thank you' letter to Saudi

It is claimed that Prince Charles sent Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz a 'thank you' letter and even a gift after he donated £1million to his foundation that looks after two Scottish estates.

Prince Charles faced new accusations over the 'cash for honours' scandal last night as extraordinary details of a Saudi billionaire's relationship with the heir to the throne were revealed.

A report by The Sunday Times claimed that the Prince of Wales sent Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz a 'thank you' letter and a carriage clock gift after he donated £1million to his foundation that looks after two Scottish estates.

The generous donor was also hosted by the Prince for a private CBE investiture in Buckingham Palace in 2016 - with claims the award was fixed in return for £1.5million in donations.

Michael Fawcett, for years a trusted ally and senior valet of Prince Charles, resigned last month amid claims he had promised to secure the honour and a British citizenship in return for the donations.

It comes after Prince Harry's claims he 'raised concerns' about the Saudi billionaire donor 'motives' and claimed he 'expressed his concerns' about him.

Scotland Yard's special inquiry team are now looking into the case, and have sent a formal letter requesting correspondence between royal aides about the possible fixing of the honour which could carry a two-year prison sentence under the 1925 Honours (Prevention of Abuse) Act.

While honour ceremonies can usually include a line of 60 people waiting to receive their certificates from the Queen or a representative, Mahfouz was given the 'highly unusual' honour of a completely private ceremony in the Blue Drawing Room, a stunning hall in Buckingham Palace usually reserved for heads of state.

There was however a set of secrecy for the event, with Mahfouz's fixer having to wait outside while the ceremony took place.

It is even reported that Charles and Camilla broke tradition by shaking hands with Mahfouz at the start of the ceremony.

Reports looking into the 'cash for honours' scandal claim that Prince Charles sent Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz (pictured together) a 'thank you' letter and even a gift after he donated £1million to his foundation that looks after two Scottish estates


Nerves will be on edge in the royal household after the newspaper revealed several new details in the contact Charles apparently had with Mahfouz before awarding him a CBE in a 'highly unusual' ceremony that broke normal protocols.

Clarence House has continued to insist Charles had no knowledge of the 'cash-for-honours deal'.

But questions have been posed about what the prince knew prior to the awarding of the CBE. The Mail reported last week that Charles is said to be willing to speak to detectives over the allegations.

Michael Fawcett stepped down as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation in November after being confronted with a letter in which he said the Royal charity would be ‘happy and willing’ to use its influence to help Mahfouz, who had given it hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He also had his private contract to organise events for Charles severed, following reports he offered to help a billionaire Saudi donor to the prince's charity secure a knighthood and British citizenship.

Then in an extraordinary statement on Sunday night, Prince Harry piled pressure on his father and said he had no involvement in what he described as the 'CBE scandal', insisted he had concerns about the Saudi businessman's 'motives' and claimed he 'expressed his concerns' about him.

The Duke of Sussex made the comments after it was revealed that he had held a private meeting with Mahfouz.

Royal watchers said the intervention is a sign that father and son have not patched things up since Megxit and the bombshells dropped by the Sussexes in their Oprah interview in March.

Harry did not say who he raised his reservations with but Clarence House insiders have reportedly said it wasn't with them. One source told the Telegraph: 'No one can remember that here'. A second source close to Prince Charles claimed there had been no talks between the two royal households about Mahfouz.

Harry is said to have become concerned about Mahfouz in 2014 and wound down their relationship the following year, having met him twice.

An independent investigation last week found Mr Fawcett had colluded with 'fixers' representing Mahfouz who were trying to secure an honour in exchange for donations.

Mahfouz is thought to have donated at least £1.5 million to royal charities.

It comes after Prince Harry's claims he 'raised concerns' about the Saudi billionaire donor 'motives' and claimed he 'expressed his concerns' about him


The Duke of Sussex said that when he cut ties with Mahfouz in 2015, he 'expressed his concerns about the donor'. But his statement did not make clear to whom he voiced these qualms.

The following year, Charles presented the Saudi billionaire with an 'honorary' CBE in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The Prince of Wales and Mahfouz also held private meetings in Scotland and Saudi Arabia.

Clarence House has repeated that Charles had 'no knowledge' of the 'cash for access' allegations, but it did not comment on whether Harry raised concerns with him about Mahfouz.

The Metropolitan Police has made initial inquiries into Mr Fawcett, but a full investigation has not been launched

It has previously been reported that Charles and Mahfouz first met in 2014 at Clarence House - Charles' official residence - with Fawcett, 59, and Mahfouz’s fixer also in attendance.

The pair are said to have discussed the prince's restoration of Dumfries House, an 18th-century Ayrshire mansion on one of his estates, and how the Saudi national could contribute to the project.

Mahfouz is reported to have shown interest in the project, including the possibility of having a garden in the grounds named after him.

This then resulted in a proposed partnership being put in writing by the fixer, with a £1 million sum being donated and a garden personally renamed as the Mahfouz Garden.

In a show of the close personal connection they had developed, Charles followed up in his own capacity, sending a 'thank you' letter to Mahfouz along with a gift, a miniature carriage clock.

The exchange appeared to solidify the relationship between Charles and Mahfouz, who started to make donations a month later, in April 2014. In October they held a renaming ceremony for the garden, with the Saudi posing for photos with the prince.

Michael Fawcett (pictured), for years a trusted ally and senior valet of Prince Charles, resigned last month amid claims he had promised to secure the honour and a British citizenship in return for the donations


Their relationship continued and culminated, it is reported, with a private CBE investiture at Buckingham Palace for Mahfouz, who was allowed to bring his family to the event.

It is also claimed that following the awarding of the honour and presentation of a certificate, Mahfouz was allowed the run of the place, taking photos with his older brothers and teenage son.

Pictures from the event were not made public, and the awarding of the owner was not ever published in the court circular as is standard practice.

Clarence House said in a statement: 'The Prince of Wales has no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours on the basis of donation to his charities.'

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Japanese Customer Sways from VW to BYD after “Unbelievable” Test Drive amid Dealership Expansion
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
White House Eyes Budapest for Peace Talks
Cave Diving Beneath the Streets of Budapest
Another American Restaurant Chain Opens in Budapest
Hungarian Opposition Politician Supports Ukrainian Commander
Opposition Leader Threatens Media Outlets
American Airlines Adds New Flights to Budapest
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Wraps Up
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
U.S. Trade Representative says Washington still negotiating trade deals after court rules tariffs illegal
Von der Leyen says Europe drawing up 'precise' plans to send troops to Ukraine
Kremlin accuses Europe of hindering Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine
×