The Prince of Wales’s closest aide, Michael Fawcett, has dramatically resigned following the leaking of a 2017 letter implicating him in the ‘cash for favours’ scandal.
As reported in the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday, Fawcett is alleged to have offered to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a billionaire Saudi donor to Prince Charles’ charity.
Fawcett stepped down as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation this weekend after journalists confronted him with a letter.
Contained within this letter, Fawcett said the charity would be ‘happy and willing’ to use its influence to help Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz in his quest for a knighthood and British citizenship.
The Prince’s Foundation said Fawcett had ‘offered to step down temporarily’ while an investigation takes place.
A spokesman for Dr Bin Mahfouz said he had “not had personal or direct communication to either request, influence or make any arrangements regarding citizenship or knighthood with Mr Fawcett, or anyone connected to HRH The Prince of Wales or The Prince’s Foundation”.
Fawcett has been working with the Prince of Wales for a number of years, and is arguably his most trusted aide.
He has been forced to resign twice before, most notably in 2003 following a report that identified mismanagement at Clarence House.
On both occasions he returned to the Prince of Wales’ inner circle with ever increasingly powerful roles.
