King’s ex-valet ‘exposed charity to substantial risk’ but misconduct ruled out

The King’s former most trusted aide Michael Fawcett exposed Charles’s charity to “substantial risk”, but his actions did not amount to misconduct, an inquiry has found.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) examined dealings at the King’s Foundation, formerly known as the Prince’s Foundation.

Mr Fawcett, Charles’s ex-valet, resigned as the foundation’s chief executive in 2021 amid claims he promised to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz – a donor to the charity.

The OSCR’s report, published on Tuesday, criticised Mr Fawcett’s “unacceptable” conduct over his failure to make sure a collection of artwork, reportedly worth more than £100 million and loaned to the charity by businessman James Stunt, was insured.

Mr Fawcett was not named directly in the publication and was only referred to as the “charity’s former CEO”.

The inquiry revealed the foundation had expressed previous concerns about Mr Fawcett over his involvement in the loan of high-value paintings from an individual referred to in the reports as Donor B.

Some of the art was later feared to be fake and the collection was found not to have been insured by the charity.

In 2019, it was reported Mr Stunt, the now-bankrupt British socialite and ex-husband of heiress Petra Ecclestone, lent 17 masterpieces by Monet, Picasso, Dali and others to the then-Prince’s Foundation to display at its headquarters, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Convicted art forger Tony Tetro claimed four of the works were his own fakes, which Mr Stunt denied.

The OSCR report said: “In relation to the charity’s former CEO, the inquiry found that some of his actions resulted in the charity being exposed to substantial risk.

“It was unacceptable that he did not brief the charity trustees on some of these serious issues as soon as they arose. By not doing so the former charity trustees’ ability to react to the risk faced by the charity was hindered.

“Based on all the information gathered, OSCR does not consider that there was misconduct on the part of the former CEO.”

The OSCR added: “The charity was exposed to significant risk due to the paintings not being insured. It was wholly unacceptable for the charity to have been placed in this position.”

It also said Mr Fawcett suggested the art had been gifted to the foundation, which was not the case.

But the regulator said, although Mr Fawcett’s failure to brief charity trustees was serious, the “difficult and chaotic nature of the correspondence with Donor B” led to confusion and it was not certain whether Mr Fawcett knew the insurance had lapsed.

The OSCR also found that overall historical governance of the charity “sometimes failed to reach the standard required” on decision making and record keeping.

But there was no misconduct by any former or current trustees or a sustained pattern of serious failings.

The King’s Foundation, renamed after Charles’s accession, aims to “advocate for the change His Majesty wants to see in the world” and has recently attracted a growing number of celebrity ambassadors including David Beckham and Sienna Miller.

It offers workshops and courses to promote heritage and endangered skills, and also focuses on sustainability, farming and agriculture, health and wellbeing, and architecture and urbanism.

The probe also examined the purchase of “home furnishings” – said to be a lamp worth thousands of pounds – which Mr Fawcett bought with the foundation’s money for Lord Brownlow, owner of Havisham Assets and then a trustee of the charity, for his personal use.

The OSCR said decision making and records of the furnishing issue were “inadequate” and it was “unclear how those transactions were in the interests of the charity”.

The cost of the lamp was later repaid to the foundation.

Questions were also raised over unauthorised payments to Mr Fawcett’s private events company Premier Mode – a contractor to the charity – from the foundation through a third-party firm.

The OSCR found a grant had been received from another charity which was intended to contribute to Mr Fawcett’s salary.

It said it was possible the payments represented work “genuinely” carried out by the events company, but it was “inappropriate” for there not to have been a formal agreement.

Mr Fawcett later repaid the money.

An internal investigation by the charity in 2021 said Mr Fawcett co-ordinated with fixers over honours nominations for Dr bin Mahfouz.

Mr Fawcett was also involved in directing a rejected donation from the Mahfouz Foundation to another charity, the Children and the Arts Foundation (CATA), of which Charles was previously patron.

The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the cash-for-honours claims but announced in 2023 that detectives would be taking no further action.

The OSCR said there was “no evidence” the King’s Foundation’s former trustees were aware the original donation had been received through the Mahfouz Foundation bank account or that it had not been returned to the donor.

A lack of minutes for a closed board meeting in 2019 to discuss the artwork and unauthorised payments was branded “inappropriate”.

The OSCR added: “The inquiry found the historical governance of the charity had sometimes failed to reach the standard required, in respect of its approach to decision making and record keeping.

“However, the inquiry did not find evidence of misconduct by any of the former or current trustees.

“In considering these issues, the evidence does not indicate or demonstrate a sustained pattern of inappropriate governance or serious failings in the governance of the charity as a whole.”

The King’s Foundation welcomed the conclusion of the OSCR’s investigation into the charity and said the findings had been noted.

A spokesperson for the foundation said: “As the report acknowledges, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator is satisfied with the improvements made by The King’s Foundation in recent years, including the introduction of new and robust governance practices.

“Following the conclusion of OSCR’s investigation, we look forward to furthering the impact of our charitable work and achievements as we enter the new year.”