Who Does Camilla Want Prince Charles To Cut Out Of His Life?
Prince Charles may be next in line to the British throne based on the order of royal succession, but the 72-year-old has a number of obstacles to overcome before he's crowned king. In addition to his shady side, which has provided tabloid fodder for decades, the Prince of Wales is now facing a "cash for honours" scandal, which alleges that his closest aide, Michael Fawcett, promised to help Saudi Arabian billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz receive a knighthood and British citizenship in exchange for donating "hundreds of thousands of pounds" to Charles's charity, The Prince's Foundation, per The Mail on Sunday. Following mounting evidence, Fawcett resigned as chief executive of the foundation in September, but Charles has been adamant that he had "no knowledge" of the scandal, per The Times. Unfortunately, the outlet discovered that wasn't quite true as the future monarch met William Bortrick, a "fixer" and paid advisor to bin Mahfouz, nine times.
Charles then lost two more staffers when the chairman and executive director of his charity resigned, per Newsweek, and, as Norman Baker, a former U.K. government minister for crime prevention, told the magazine, "It is simply not credible for Prince Charles to continue to assert that he knows nothing about any of this." Meanwhile, biographer Howard Hodgson told Express that the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. "Is he told about cash-for-honours? Of course not. Does he think it happens? Of course he must," he reasoned. Now, Camilla is chiming in.
Who does Camilla want Prince Charles to cut out of his life?
Michael Fawcett resigned from his position as chief executive of The Prince's Foundation, a role reportedly paying him £95,000 (about $160,000) a year, in September, per Daily Mail, after a 2017 letter was uncovered confirming his involvement in the "cash for honours" scandal. However, it seems Prince Charles has been slow to cut ties with Fawcett, his "most trusted aide for decades," despite the drama and reports claiming Camilla isn't having it. According to The Times, the Duchess of Cornwall is working to persuade her husband to completely push aside the "damaging" Fawcett. "She will be merciless in her pursuit of Michael out of the door," one source told the outlet while another revealed, "She has said it is time to draw the line. This is the end of the road for Michael."
Insiders also noted that Camilla became increasingly vocal of her dislike of Fawcett in recent history and hadn't been on speaking terms with him for two years. "She has made it plain she didn't want him around," they noted. Additionally, she'd like to ensure Fawcett is never again "in the prince's ear" because Camilla is, "as far as she is concerned, the only person who should be able to convince the prince of anything."
Fawcett and the Prince's Foundation have since been accused of also accepting money from a Russian banker convicted of money laundering and a Chinese government agency representative, per Daily Mail. The charity has ordered an independent inquiry, which should conclude in early November.