Saturday 2 July 2022 10:09 PM Letters from Prince Charles show he DIDN'T take a back seat in fundraising ... trends now

Saturday 2 July 2022 10:09 PM Letters from Prince Charles show he DIDN'T take a back seat in fundraising ... trends now
Saturday 2 July 2022 10:09 PM Letters from Prince Charles show he DIDN'T take a back seat in fundraising ... trends now

Saturday 2 July 2022 10:09 PM Letters from Prince Charles show he DIDN'T take a back seat in fundraising ... trends now

A collection of letters the Prince of Wales wrote to the former head of his American foundation has thrown fresh light on his controversial fundraising activities.

The cache shows how closely involved Charles was in trying to secure contributions from wealthy donors, in contrast to official assertions from Clarence House that he kept himself at arm’s length from such decisions.

Written in his characteristically clear but spidery handwriting, the correspondence with Robert Higdon, when he was managing director of the Prince of Wales Foundation USA, has been put up for sale by a leading collector of Royal memorabilia.

The 19 letters show he took a close interest in the fundraising, even taking time on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve to write about tactics.

In one, he complains about throwing a Clarence House dinner for potential donors before they had pledged any money, saying: ‘I fear I was not amused as, of course, it was a total waste of my time!’

A number of letters up for auction from Prince Charles show that he was involved in trying to secure contributions from wealthy donors, despite Clarence House saying he was only involved from a distance

A number of letters up for auction from Prince Charles show that he was involved in trying to secure contributions from wealthy donors, despite Clarence House saying he was only involved from a distance

The 19 letters offered for sale at $3,500 (£3,000) each, were written between 1997 and 2008

The 19 letters offered for sale at $3,500 (£3,000) each, were written between 1997 and 2008

In a letter from 1997 Prince Charles praises the managing director of the Prince of Wales Foundation USA for organising a dinner where all the charitable donations were made in advance

In a letter from 1997 Prince Charles praises the managing director of the Prince of Wales Foundation USA for organising a dinner where all the charitable donations were made in advance

Previously Charles’s courtiers have issued statements insisting his charities ‘operate independently of the Prince himself in relation to all decisions around fundraising’ and that it is the trustees who ‘are responsible for all operational and governance duties’.

Last week, it was revealed that the Prince had received £2.58 million in cash from a Qatari sheik, including one payment of €1 million in a suitcase delivered to him personally at Clarence House in 2015 and another cash donation made in bags from upmarket grocer Fortnum & Mason.

All the money was handed to Coutts bank and deposited in the accounts for his charitable organisation, the Prince of Wales Fund, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing. The Prince’s office now say a cash payment ‘would not happen again’.

Mr Higdon ran the Washington-based Prince of Wales Foundation from 1997 to 2011. He raised millions for the charity but his high salary – a reported £500,000 a year – attracted criticism. Further controversy came over his introduction of American fundraising methods into what had previously been a rather staid – and controlled – Royal world.

The 19 letters offered for sale at

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