Trouble Continues for Charles as Police Launch Investigation into Cash-For-Honors Scandal

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 19 February 2022

Scotland Yard has launched an investigation into the cash-for-honors scandal plaguing Prince Charles’ charity The Prince’s Foundation, reports The Mirror.

The probe comes after the Foundation’s former chief executive Michael Fawcett stepped down last year amid accusations of promising to secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a Saudi donor. A spokesman for Charles insists he knew nothing about Fawcett’s alleged actions.

“The Metropolitan Police Service has launched an investigation into allegations of offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925,” a statement read. “The decision follows an assessment of a September 2021 letter. This related to media reporting alleging offers of help were made to secure honours and citizenship for a Saudi national.”

So far, no arrests have been made, police added, and The Prince’s Foundation is cooperating with police.

“The Special Enquiry Team has conducted the assessment process, which has included contacting those believed to hold relevant information,” the statement continued. “Officers liaised with The Prince’s Foundation about the findings of an independent investigation into fundraising practices. The Foundation provided a number of relevant documents. These documents were reviewed alongside existing information. The assessment determined an investigation will commence.”

Allegations against Charles’ foundation were first leveled last September, both in The Sunday Times and The Mail on Sunday. By November, Fawcett had resigned from his post.

After the announcement of the police probe, Charles’ office reiterated his previous assertions that he knew nothing of a cash-for-honors exchange, saying “The Prince of Wales had no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities.”

This investigation comes the same week that Charles tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time, after a bout with it in March 2020.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.