LONDON (AP) – Britain’s Prince Charles faces more questions about his charities after a newspaper reported that one of his funds accepted a £1 million ($1.2 million) donation from relatives of Osama bin Laden.
The Sunday Times reported that the Prince of Wales Charity Fund received the money in 2013 from Bakr bin Laden, the patriarch of the large and wealthy Saudi family, and his brother Shafiq. Both are half-brothers of the former al-Qaeda leader who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.
The newspaper said advisors had urged the heir to the throne not to accept the donation.
The Charles Clarence House office denied this but confirmed that the donation had been made. The decision to accept the money was made by the charity’s trustees, not the Prince, and “the utmost care has been taken in accepting this donation”.
The fund’s chairman, Ian Cheshire, also said the donation was “fully agreed” by the five trustees at the time and “any attempt to suggest otherwise is misleading and inaccurate”.
The Prince of Wales Charity Fund was established in 1979 to “change lives and build sustainable communities” and provides grants to a wide range of projects in the UK and around the world.
Charles, 73, has been faced with a string of allegations about the running of his charities. Last month, The Sunday Times reported that he had accepted bags of $3 million worth of cash from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former Prime Minister of Qatar.
London Police are currently investigating a separate allegation that people linked to another of the Prince’s charities, the Prince’s Foundation, have offered to help a Saudi billionaire gain honors and citizenship in exchange for donations. Clarence House said Charles was not aware of any such offer.