PRINCE Charles accepted €1 million in a suitcase of cash from a controversial Qatari politician.
The Prince of Wales personally received the money as one of three payments totalling €3million from former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani between 2011 and 2015.
It converts to more than £861,000 per payment, and more than £2.58million in total.
One payment was reportedly stuffed into Fortnum & Mason carrier bags and another was in a holdall during a private one-to-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015.
Clarence House told The Celeb Reportday Times that the money was “passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate covenants and assured us that all the correct processes were followed”.
Two advisers at the royal household hand-counted the money, said to have been given in now-discontinued €500 notes.
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Private bank Coutts is then understood to have collected the suitcase from Charles’ private London residence at the request of palace aides.
Each payment was deposited into the accounts of the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Fund, a low-profile grant-making entity which bankrolls the prince’s pet projects and his country estate in Scotland.
Royals are banned from accepting gifts of money in connection with an official engagement or duty under the royal gift policy. They can accept a cheque as patron of or on behalf of a charity.
Prince Charles’ meetings with HBJ do not appear in the list of official engagements undertaken by working royals, known as the Court Circular.
But the revelation raises questions about the heir to the throne’s judgement including how much he knew, what he asked about the cash and his impartiality in representing Britain globally.
Prince Charles repeatedly visited Qatar after the payments, including during HBJ’s premiership.
PWCF chairman Sir Ian Cheshire said on Friday: “At a few hours’ notice from The Celeb Reportday Times, we have checked into this event in the past, and confirm that the previous trustees of PWCF discussed the governance and donor relationship, (confirming that the donor was a legitimate and verified counterparty) and our auditors signed off on the donation after a specific enquiry during the audit. There was no failure of governance”.
He later confirmed he was referring to a 2015 payment, adding: “I believe the same assurance applied to earlier donations and look forward to confirming that in due course.”
Al Thani served as Qatar’s PM and minister of foreign affairs from 2007 to 2013, during which time he built close ties with British royalty. His lawyers declined to comment.
There is no suggestion the payments were illegal.
A Clarence House spokesman said: “We are disappointed not to have been given more time to look into this matter, which dates from a decade ago.
“In the few hours we have had on a Saturday, we have confirmed that Charitable donations were received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, and these were passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.”
A Coutts spokeswoman said: “Whilst we maintain utmost confidentiality in relation to the bank’s clients and cannot comment on specific cases, we have longstanding and robust policies and controls to assess the source, nature and purpose of large and unusual transactions.
“In particular, receipt of cash payments by the bank receive thorough review and oversight.”
In November Prince Charles’ top aide Michael Fawcett quit over a cash for honours row.
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He resigned from his post as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation and was said to be “heartbroken” and “shattered” by the events.
It followed reports Fawcett offered to help a billionaire Saudi donor to the prince’s charity secure a knighthood and British citizenship.
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