Prince Harry.Photo: Gotham/GC Images
Prince Harryhas condemned what he calls a “deliberately vague” report in a statementregarding a scandalinvolvingPrince Charles' former aide Michael Fawcett.
The departure of Fawcett — who rose from being a footman toQueen Elizabethto Charles’s valet and ultimately to chief executive of the Prince’s Foundation — came after a series of reports about how he allegedly offered help securing a knighthood and British citizenship on behalf of Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz in exchange for charity donations.
An inquiry last week found that Charles’s one-time closest confidant did work with “fixers” over nominations for honors between 2014 and 2018.
Now,Prince Harryis speaking out after a report inThe Sunday Timesstated that his Sentebale charity received donations from Mahfouz in 2013 after a private meeting with the Duke of Sussex.
“The Duke and his advisers, as well as his non-profit Sentebale, severed ties with Mr Mahfouz and his associates in 2015, no longer accepting further donations to Sentebale and discontinuing any plans for a fundraising event amid growing concerns over the motives for his support.”
“The Duke had one planned meeting with this donor nearly eight years ago, did not introduce him to any members of the royal family, and expressed his concerns about the donor,” the statement concludes.
According to last week’s inquiry, Fawcett operated under the radar of the trustees of the foundation, who were unaware of the communications at the time. The report also stated that Ernst & Young found “no evidence that employees or trustees of the Prince’s Foundation were aware of private dinners being ‘sold’ or arranged in exchange for money.”
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source: people.com
