I’m sure this story won’t get many comments, but I continue to be flabbergasted by how Prince Charles is totally getting away with everything. For decades, Charles has been raising millions of dollars for his various foundations and charities. Charles will take a check from anyone. He will ASK for a check from anyone, including Osama bin Laden’s family, Vladimir Putin’s oligarch friends and various oil-rich Middle Eastern “businessmen.” Charles even offers services for donations, like honours and promises of British citizenship. It’s been clear for the past year that Charles was going to hang this whole mess around Michael Fawcett’s neck. Fawcett is some creepy aide who worked his way up to being one of Charles’s main charity executives. Charles fired him when the reporting around all of this “fundraising” began last year. Only it doesn’t even seem like anyone has an appetite to even investigate Charles’s fall guy.
Scotland Yard has still not questioned the royal aide at the centre of a “cash for honours” scandal uncovered almost a year ago. Detectives have failed to interview Michael Fawcett, Prince Charles’s longest-serving aide, even though he is said to have contacted the Metropolitan Police to offer his “full co-operation”.
Fawcett, 59, was forced to quit last year as chief executive of the Prince’s Foundation, one of Charles’s flagship charities, following claims he helped to fix an honour for a Saudi tycoon who donated more than £1.5 million to royal causes. Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, 52, was made an honorary CBE by the future king at a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace after pledging large sums to help restore royal residences in Scotland close to Charles.
Fawcett — the man whom the prince once said he could not live without — co-ordinated the application process and helped “upgrade” the proposed honour from a lesser OBE, according to leaked emails.
Scotland Yard’s Special Enquiry Team — the same unit that handled the much-criticised inquiry into Covid breaches during parties held at Downing Street — began examining the allegations soon after they appeared in The Sunday Times last September. In February, it launched a full investigation into potential offences committed under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. The development raised the prospect of Charles, 73, having to give evidence under police caution. However, nearly six months later, no arrests have been made and key players have not been interviewed.
The Met says it will not be giving “a running commentary” on the investigation and has refused to say how many officers are working on the case.
This whole thing is in the process of being buried. Charles – or someone close to him – has been trying to get all of this sh-t out in a steady pace before his coronation, and they didn’t even need to bother with any of it. The bin Laden story was ignored. The suitcases-full-of-cash story was shrugged off. The investigation into the fact that Charles was blatantly selling access and honours is being blatantly slow-walked and eventually buried. By this time next year, Michael Fawcett will be back in some kind of CEO position with one of Charles’s foundations.
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- North America Rights Only – Cambridge, UK -20220331- Prince Charles at King’s College to meet Cambridge Trust students who are Prince of Wales Commonwealth Scholarships Awardees during his visit to the city of Cambridge. -PICTURED: Prince Charles -PHOTO by: Justin Tallis/PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- The Prince of Wales meets with members of the Bridgettines, an order of sisters, during a visit to St Winefride’s Guest House, Flintshire, north Wales, as part of a week long tour of Wales for Wales Week.,Image: 619744188, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Peter Byrne / Avalon
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- The Prince of Wales views The SMI Fashion Coalition’s Digital ID, a virtual certificate that records each item’s history with members of the Fashion Coalition, one of the SMI’s ten Industry Coalitions which includes CEOs from some of the leading fashion houses including Giorgio Armani, Mulberry and Chloe at the Villa Wolkonsky Residence Gardens in Rome.,Image: 640704043, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown / Avalon
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- North America Rights Only – Rwanda, Rwanda -20220623- Prince Charles at Umusambi Village, Kigali’s first and only wildlife sanctuary, operated by the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA), as part of the royal visit to Rwanda. -PICTURED: Prince Charles -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
They’re walking this so slowly they appear to be walking it all back. No, they ARE walking it all back. There will be no repercussions for Charles, or any of them, for all the messiness bordering on illegality if not all out illegal. It will all be quickly forgotten the next time Kate presents a pie graph to show her brilliance or Meghan eats an avocado like the terrorist she is (JOKING AND SARCASM)
I guess they are waiting on Charles to be king so that he cannot be prosecuted
Oooohhh… Good guess. I think you are probably right on this one. I am also wondering if things have soured between Prince Charles and Fawcett and whether or not Fawcett is the one leaking the info on these cash donations from dodgy sources.
Scotland Yard exists to the protect the British establishment not the masses. So it’s no surprise that they’re slow walking this thing.
This. I just don’t know what it will take for the British public to finally have enough.
I guess they are too busy making sure Harry and his family never get security. That’s their real priority. Nothing to see anywhere else.
Exactly this. The Met’a priorities seem to come straight from the palace. How is this acceptable? It shows to those of us outside England/GB just how entrenched the monarchy is.
They may have investigated if the Media and the Tories were not just as corrupt as the Royals. The empire days are over, I don’t see a very bright future for anyone on that isolated little isle that isn’t aristocratic.
If the BRF think they are ordained by god they shouldn’t act like a-holes. Maybe lead by example or whatever.
When you’re ordained by god that automatically means everything you do is right.
I’m sure Fawcett offered his “full cooperation” just like Andrew’s lawyers assured the FBI that he would fully cooperate before completely ghosting them.
Kaiser is exactly right though, it’s absolutely bonkers that there isn’t a real public outcry or journalistic appetite for investigating the future head of state accepting money from a who’s who of shady businessmen and despots. I’m disappointed but not surprised that the UK media has halfheartedly reported each scandal with a shrug before immediately moving on as if it never happened, but I *am* surprised that so far there haven’t been any US political journalists reporting on any of it whatsoever. NYTimes, Washington Post, nada?
My biggest question is WTAF are they using all this money for? They’re funded by taxpayers, security costs, housing costs, etc are all covered, they 100% get free clothing and other misc. freebies even though they deny it, Charles’ Duchy makes millions, and even if they had to spend their own money (the HORROR!), the royal family is sitting on wealth they’ve hoarded and hidden for HUNDREDS of years, so why exactly do they need all this dirty money? It’s so obviously money laundering, which makes it even crazier that it’s not being investigated.
Grifters, every one. I am surprised that the citizenry seem to shrug this off.
I would think the ongoing economic crisis would help draw some outrage around this. But as an American I know how hard it is to get people to care about the crimes being committed right in front of them.
I’m flabbergasted too, Kaiser. This is why I read Celebitchy.
It’s also heartbreaking to think of all the people who are hungry, sick, homeless and broke in the UK. While the monarchy sits on a pile of wealth that can’t even be estimated.
These things don’t happen in a vacuum. Charles can’t just accept bags of cash – what’s he going to do, hide them under his bed? The money has to go into the bank, the bank has to report large deposits and Charles’ foundation has to report the gift. Charles can’t just hand out honors and citizenships – those have to come from the government. And foreign dignitaries can’t just swan into the country and meet with the prince without someone in the government knowing about it. If Charles has gotten away with anything, it’s because the government has allowed it. So, how likely are they to investigate themselves?
Really good point, E. I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. There’s no way all of these giant donations happened without multiple levels of other officials knowing about it.
Ug. How depressing.
Agreed, Laura, and I hadn’t thought of it that way either. It is deeply depressing.
The police not doing anything about a member of the BRF? I am shocked, shocked I tell you. I just hope there are some people out there paying attention and keeping notes for when we finally are ready to put a match to this corrupt institution.
#abolishthemonarchy
So that Bowers book was not “distraction” enough except for people pointing out the fake information in it. So what next? Oh the “outrage of Harry’s book” the other books coming out, and maybe pictures of the Cambridge children as distractions. This Charles matter does need serious investigation.
It does need serious investigation but, there’s already a precedence. TQ was not adverse to accepting jewellery and racehorses as gifts and no-one batted an eyelid. If anything the media (and to a certain extent the public) saw the generosity by these people as a way of measuring how important the monarchy are on a global stage.
Publicising this money as a donations to Charles’ charity is unpalatable but, at the risk of repeating myself it’s something the RF has always done. I’ll wager that many British subjects really can’t see what all the fuss is about. They’ve become so used to seeing the RF receive generous gifts from overseas “admirers”; these donations are just more of the same.
The Guardian tried to show how TQ and Charles have used their privilege to protect their assets and there was very little (if any) outrage in the mainstream media. Even when they lost their appeal to view Phillip’s will there were next to no protests from the tabloids. However, an argument over whether a bridesmaid should (or shouldn’t wear) tights is seen as threat to the constitutional monarchy! Go figure!
My guess is Fawcett “offered his cooperation” & it was mutually understood that he remained under Charles’s protection & would never be questioned. Charles & Fawcett have reportedly had a quite intimate relationship, in all senses of the word. I suspect Charles views any negativity towards Fawcett the same way he views negativity towards Camilla–he’s emotionally invested in both, so they are both reflections on Charles himself. Ergo, both must be protected at all costs.
Someone should produce a Netflix or AppleTV or Hulu or whatever streaming series called “Filthy Rich Royals” and expose the whole stinking, grifting lot of them.
The average person has to jump through so many hoops just to get a loan only to wind up selling their souls to the bank. Meanwhile we have Charles here literally being handed money from the sketchiest of characters with nary a background check done.
I must say, on a very superficial note though, Fawcett has a lovely head of hair.
Who’s hurt by bags of money going to charities? That’s the bottom line, and the answer is, well, no one. Bad people should give money to charity. People struggling to pay rent and put food on the table don’t care about dusty honors scandals.
What kind of charities are these? Are these food banks? Or are these shell companies for Prince Charles? Because the only charities I see mentioned in these stories are charities to maintain and run his own estates, which isn’t any kind of charity in my mind, just set up as one as a tax dodge.
To think these grifters not only have the nerve to bilk the entire United Kingdom (and still have the riches of colonized countries in past centuries), they EVEN have to get funded by criminal, enemy governments that are dictator-led and in an illegal/immoral war against the Ukraine? So how is this f—er doing his “share” for Ukraine? Taking Soviet money that will NOT be used for war, but for his own luxuries? He is a collaborator with Russia, in my opinion, if he reaps the money stolen from the Russian people. My God.
This is exactly what I get hung up on. No Russian, in the history of Russia, has offered a suitcase of cash to the royal family of England out of the kindness of their heart, there is always a quid pro quo. Charles gives tacit approval for the war every time he takes one of these shady “donations to charity”.