Prince Charles’s top aide quits over ‘cash for honours’ scandal

Michael Fawcett will not seek to fight an official investigation, it is understood (Picture: Getty Images)

The Prince of Wales’s right hand man resigned last night after getting caught up in the ‘cash for honours’ scandal.

Michael Fawcett has quit his post as chief executive of one of Charles’s charities and will no longer be providing services to Clarence House.

He had temporarily stepped down from his post at The Prince’s Foundation in September.

But a spokesperson for the charity confirmed he has since resigned, with friends saying he is ‘heartbroken’ and ‘shattered’ by what’s happened.

Mr Fawcett, 59, is accused of offering to help a billionaire Saudi donor to the charity secure a knighthood and British citizenship.

The Prince’s former valet, who rose through the ranks to become one of his closest and most powerful aides, is not seeking to battle an official investigation, it is understood.

Mr Fawcett, 59, has quit after a 40 year career in the royal household (Picture: Getty Images)

The former valet rose through the ranks to become a powerful adviser to Prince Charles (Picture: Getty Images)

The Mail on Sunday published a letter from 2017 in which Mr Fawcett reportedly said he was willing to make an application to change businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz’s honorary CBE to a KBE.

He also wrote that he would support his application for citizenship, the newspaper reported.

The letter, written on headed notepaper in Mr Fawcett’s then-capacity as chief executive of the Dumfries House Trust, said the applications would be made in response to ‘the most recent and anticipated support’ of the trust.

In September, Clarence House said Charles had ‘no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities’.

It insisted the royal was fully supportive of an investigation by The Prince’s Foundation.

Mr Fawcett was previously forced to resign on two other occasions, over accusations of bullying and selling unwanted royal gifts (Picture: REX)

Friends say Mr Fawcett is ‘heartbroken’ and ‘shattered’ by what’s happened (Picture: Jamie Wiseman for The Daily Mail)

Yesterday, a Clarence House spokesperson said it was cutting ties with Mr Fawcett on a personal basis and would never work with his party planning company Premier Mode, again.

A spokesperson said: ‘Michael Fawcett and Premier Mode will not be providing services to us in the future. We have all agreed to end these arrangements.’

Mr Fawcett was appointed to the major role of chief executive of Charles’ The Prince’s Foundation in 2018 amid a reorganisation of the prince’s charities.

Friends say the scandal has been ‘devastating’ for Mr Fawcett. One said: ‘Michael has resigned and he will never be coming back. He has lost five stone in weight and is a shadow of his former self.’

A leaked letter shows Mr Fawcett offering to help Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz secure a knighthood and British citizenship (Picture: Zhivko Mironov)

Clarence House said it was cutting ties with Mr Fawcett on a personal basis following the latest scandal (Picture: REX)

Mr Fawcett has been forced to resign twice before – once in 1998 after being accused of bullying and again in 2003 when he accused of selling unwanted royal gifts.

The second time an internal inquiry cleared him of financial misconduct and the Prince awarded him a £500,000 severance package, the Daily Mail reports.

He later went on to get his £95,000 a year role as chief executive of the future king’s charity.

Premier Mode was also awarded a lucrative contract to organise most of the Prince’s official and private entertainment.

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