Prince Charles will no longer handle large cash donations to be passed to his charities, according to a royal source.
The heir to the throne has faced vehement criticism after reportedly being presented with €3m (£2.6m) in cash – some of it in a suitcase – from a former Qatari prime minister between 2011 and 2015.
On Wednesday, however, a royal source insisted that Charles operates on advice and that such incidents have not happened in the past half a decade and “would not happen again”.
It comes after pressure group Republic demanded full disclosure over the “shocking” matter, saying it raised “serious questions about Prince Charles’s judgment” amid other cash-for-honours allegations.
The royal source told PA news agency: “[The cash] was passed immediately to his charities and it was his charities who decided to accept the money – that is a decision for them.
“And they did so, and as they confirmed, it followed all the right processes, the auditors looked at it.
“The Prince of Wales operates on advice. Situations, contexts change over the years.”
The source added: “For more than half a decade, with the situation as it has evolved, this has not happened and it would not happen again.
“That is then and this is now.”
According to Clarence House, the donations were “passed immediately” to one of the prince’s charities. It also claimed that “appropriate governance” was conducted.
“Charitable donations received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim 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 statement said.
During a single meeting at Charles’s residence, a donation of one million euros was handed over, claims The Sunday Times.
Founded in 1979, PWCF was established to transform lives and build sustainable communities by rewarding grants to registered non-profit organisations to deliver projects in the UK, the Commonwealth and overseas.
If follows the launch of a probe by the Metropolitan Police into an alleged cash-for-honours scandal after the Prince of Wales and a former close confidant were reported to the force.
Republic’s chief executive Graham Smith accused both Charles and Michael Fawcett, his former royal valet, of breaching the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.
Clarence House said the prince had “no knowledge” of the alleged cash-for-honours scandal.
Mr Fawcett, who has since resigned as chief executive of Charles’s charitable body The Prince’s Foundation, was accused of promising to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a Saudi billionaire donor.
