The Sunday Times claimed the future king accepted the payment from Bakr bin Laden, the patriarch of the Saudi Arabian family, and his brother Shafiq. Prince Charles, 73, is said to have had a private meeting with Bakr, 76, at Clarence House in London on October 30, 2013, two years after Osama bin Laden was shot dead by US special forces at a compound near Islamabad in Pakistan, according to the paper. Clarence House strongly disputes many of the claims, saying the decision to accept the donation to his charity, the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF), was made solely by trustees. Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden are Osama’s half-brothers, related to the al-Qaeda founder through their father, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a Yemeni-born billionaire. There is no indication that Bakr or Shafiq bin Laden have supported or engaged in terrorist activities. Sir Ian Cheshire, chairman of the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation (PWCF), where the money was deposited, said in a statement: “The donation from Sheikh Bakr Bin Laden in 2013 was carefully considered by PWCF trustees at the time. “Due diligence was carried out, with information sought from a wide range of sources, including the government. The decision to accept the donation was made entirely by the Trustees. “Any attempt to suggest otherwise is misleading and inaccurate.” A source close to the charity said that after a thorough review of the issues, trustees concluded that the actions of one member of the Bin Laden family should not tarnish the entire family. A spokesman for Clarence House said: “The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Trust has assured us that due diligence was carried out in accepting this donation. “The decision to accept was made solely by the charity’s trustees and any attempt to suggest otherwise is false.” A source disputed suggestions that the prince had personally brokered the deal, had agreed to the donations despite advisers’ objections and that several advisers had personally pleaded with him to return the money. The source also denied that the Prince was asked to repay the money and was told the amount “wouldn’t be good for anyone”. It comes a month after it was revealed the Prince of Wales received bags containing millions of euros in cash during meetings with Qatar’s former prime minister. Last week, the Charity Commission said it would take no further action over reports that Charles was given a total of €3m (£2.6m) during meetings with Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani. The Sunday Times reported that the cash was delivered to the Prince of Wales in a suitcase in a suitcase, another case and in carrier bags from Fortnum & Mason, the department store that has a royal warrant to supply the prince’s household. with groceries. The deliveries were reportedly made during meetings between the two men, including a one-on-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015. Each payment was deposited into PWCF’s accounts and there is no indication that the payments were illegal. A spokesman for Clarence House said in June that the money given at the 2015 meeting “went straight to one of the prince’s charities who complied with the appropriate wills and assured us that all the correct procedures were followed”.
