King Charles’ New Public Funding Sparks Outrage

King Charles III’s foundation is to get £6 million ($7.7 million) of taxpayers’ money to help with the government’s “levelling up” program, in a move condemned by critics.

Britain’s finance chief, Jeremy Hunt, said in his spring budget this week that The King’s Foundation would get the money “to pilot how community-led regeneration projects anchored around heritage assets and sustainability considerations can complement government’s wider place-based initiatives for levelling up.”

However, the charity is under investigation by watchdog the Office of the Scottish Charities Register over allegations its former chief executive offered to help a tycoon secure a knighthood and citizenship in exchange for donations.

Ex-CEO Michael Fawcett, a former valet to Charles, once so close he squeezed the toothpaste onto the royal’s toothbrush, resigned after an internal probe.

The regulator’s website also shows the charity’s annual spending ballooned to £35 million in 2023, exceeding its income of £23 million. It was the first year since 2019 in which spending exceeded income.

Norman Baker, a former U.K. government minister, told Newsweek: “It doesn’t land well and certainly when there’s an investigation going on there should be no more public money allocated to anything like that.

“Now it’s been spotted it should be stopped pending further investigation.”

The foundation runs a number of Charles’ projects, including his flagship regeneration of Dumfries House, a stately home in Scotland that he hopes will provide jobs for people living in the surrounding area.

However, efforts to fund the plan struggled, creating a need to generate donations and it is in that context there were allegations of dubious methods being used to garner donations.

Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, told Newsweek: “It’s staggering. I don’t understand why the government would be spending public money on a charity that has the support of a billionaire. I would imagine it comes down to the fact Charles lobbied for it.

“The charity’s under investigation, the government shouldn’t be going anywhere near it.”

The Mail on Sunday previously published a letter sent by Fawcett to an aide to Saudi tycoon Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who according The Sunday Times gave more than £1.5 million to Charles’ charities.

The note said: “We are willing and happy to support and contribute to the application for Citizenship” and “are willing to make [an] application to increase His Excellency’s honor from Honorary CBE to that of KBE.”

This, Fawcett wrote, was “in response to the most recent and anticipated support of the Trust and in connection with his ongoing commitment generally within the United Kingdom.”

The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation, though no charges were brought, and the OSCR is still conducting a regulatory probe.

An internal investigation by the charity found in December 2021: “With respect to the allegation of securing honours for a donor in exchange for donations, there is evidence that communication and co-ordination took place between the CEO at the time and so-called ‘fixers’ regarding honorary nominations for a donor between 2014-18.

“There is no evidence that trustees at the time were aware of these communications.”

Smith also took aim at the fact the budget suggested the money was linked to levelling up, an agenda aimed at support working class people living in towns by rebalancing the U.K. economy so wealth is less concentrated in London.

“The idea of giving £6 million pounds to a billionaire-supported charity as part of levelling up clearly is offensive to all those people who actually need funds put into genuine community projects,” Smith said.

‘Serious Questions’

He called for Members of Parliament to investigate: “The Public Accounts Committee should certainly be asking some serious questions about why this money is being spent on King Charles and his charities when we’ve got councils struggling to stay solvent.”

Fawcett’s letter, dated August 17, 2017, read: “In light of the ongoing and most recent generosity of His Excellency, Sheikh Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, I am happy to confirm to you, in confidence, that we are willing and happy to support and contribute to the application for Citizenship.

“I can further confirm that we are willing to make [an] application to increase His Excellency’s honor from Honorary CBE to that of KBE in accordance with Her Majesty’s Honors Committee.

“Both of these applications will be made in response to the most recent and anticipated support of the Trust and in connection with his ongoing commitment generally within the United Kingdom. I hope this confirmation is sufficient in allowing us to go forward.”

Charles’ aides previously said he “has no knowledge of the alleged offer of honors or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities and fully supports the investigation now underway by The Prince’s Foundation [now The King’s Foundation].”

Jack Royston is Newsweek‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.

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