Standing in the grand entrance hall of Dumfries House, Prince Charles warmly clasped the hand of veteran fundraiser Michael Wynne-Parker.
Smiling a few feet away and smartly dressed in a pin-striped suit was William Bortrick, the publisher of the aristocratic bible Burke’s Peerage.
The three men were gathered to celebrate and mark the generosity of another figure in the room, Dr Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz.
Society fixer Mr Wynne-Parker was an advisor to the Saudi businessman, who had agreed to donate a significant sum to Dumfries House, the 18th Century Palladian mansion in Ayrshire.
The Prince’s Foundation established by the future King has worked for years to painstakingly – and expensively – restore the property, with Charles overseeing every detail.
The event in October 2014 to open landscaped gardens and a fountain named after Dr Bin Mahfouz celebrated the first of a string of generous donations that he made to the Prince’s projects.
Standing in the grand entrance hall of Dumfries House, Prince Charles warmly clasped the hand of veteran fundraiser Michael Wynne-Parker (pictured above). The three men were gathered to celebrate and mark the generosity of another figure in the room, Dr Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz (pictured, back right)
The following year, he reportedly gave £370,000 to the Castle of Mey, the Highlands retreat once owned by the Queen Mother and now another of Charles’ charitable ventures.
On this occasion, a nearby wood was named in the businessman’s honour and six benches were given plaques bearing his name and those of his relatives.
Supporting Charles may, however, have potentially offered more than benches and trees.
A letter obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveals the Prince’s Foundation was ‘willing and happy’ to support Dr Bin Mahfouz’s application for British citizenship and to recommend him for a knighthood.
The author of the note, written in August 2017, was Michael Fawcett, one of Charles’s most influential aides.
The revelation drags the royal ‘cash for access’ scandal far closer to the Prince’s doorstep.
Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed an email written by Mr Wynne-Parker detailing how clients could pay six-figure sums to secure dinner with Charles and an overnight stay at Dumfries House.
In the email, he proposed taking a five per cent commission on any donation, with the money sent via the bank account of Mr Bortrick’s firm, Burke’s Peerage Ltd.
Last week, Mr Wynne-Parker claimed to have arranged donations totalling £2 million from a Saudi businessman who had been invited to Dumfries House several times.
He did not say whether the donor was Dr bin Mahfouz or if he had accepted any fees or commission.
Last week, Mr Wynne-Parker (pictured) claimed to have arranged donations totalling £2 million from a Saudi businessman who had been invited to Dumfries House
