The British newspaper “Sunday Times” revealed that the Prince of Wales Charles accepted 1 million sterling pounds from the family of Osama bin Laden in 2013.
Prince Charles got the money from Bakr bin Laden, the head of the wealthy Saudi family, and his brother, who are half-brothers of Osama bin Laden.
Charles, 73, met Bakr, 76, at Clarence House in London on October 30, 2013, two years after Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan, the British newspaper reported.
Prince Charles agreed to donate despite initial objections from advisers at Clarence House and the Prince of Wales Charitable Trust (PWCF), where the money was eventually deposited.
According to sources, several of Charles’ advisors, including at least one trustee, have personally appealed to him for the money back.
A worker at the prince’s house said that leaking the news to the media would lead to national outrage, adding that they told the prince it “would be of no use to anyone” if it was found that he had accepted money from the family of the perpetrator of the worst terrorist attack in history.
A second adviser also urged the prince to return the money.
A palace insider said the “big fear” was that the payment would erode Charles’s reputation and the charity, saying “there are other sources of money in the world”.
However, Charles was said to have felt it would be too embarrassing to return the money and feared they would suspect why.
In July 2022, a source in the British royal palace said that cash donations to the Crown Prince Charity Foundation (PWCF) will no longer be accepted.
