EXCLUSIVELate Queen was thrilled at the dramatic resignation of then-Prince Charles closest aide following a Mail on Sunday expose, says cash for access fixer
Queen Elizabeth was thrilled at the dramatic resignation of the then Prince Charless closest aide following a Mail on Sunday exposé, it was sensationally claimed last night.
Queen Elizabeth was thrilled at the dramatic resignation of the then Prince Charless closest aide following a Mail on Sunday exposé, it was sensationally claimed last night.
Michael Wynne-Parker, a society fixer – himself now embroiled in a cash for access scandal – alleges he was told by Prince Andrew in a phone call that the late Queen was relieved when Michael Fawcett, who ran Charless charities, stepped down amid the MoSs revelations about his misuse of his position.
The Duke of York, who was calling from Balmoral, is said to have informed Mr Wynne-Parker: Im with Mum and shes thrilled with you, Michael, because youve probably saved the monarchy.
The astonishing claim is just one of a number of incendiary comments made by Mr Wynne-Parker, 78, who was speaking for the first time since being disqualified by the Charity Commission last week after a three-year investigation into donations to The Kings Foundation.
He told this newspaper: They have singled out the one person who was a player, but was not the principal player.
Queen Elizabeth (Pictured in 2022) was thrilled at the dramatic resignation of the then Prince Charles s closest aide following a Mail on Sunday exposé, it has been claimed
The Metropolitan Police also launched an investigation in 2022 following claims that the Kings right-hand man Michael Fawcett (Pictured with King Charles III in 2021) had fixed an honour for Dr Bin Mahfouz
Michael Wynne-Parker, a society fixer – who is now embroiled in a cash for access scandal – has alleged Prince Andrew told him in a phone call that the late Queen was thrilled when Fawcett resigned
In August 2021, The Mail on Sunday published a leaked email in which Mr Wynne-Parker provided details of how dinner with Prince Charles and an overnight stay at Dumfries House in Scotland – owned by the Kings Foundation (then the Princes Foundation) – could be secured in exchange for a six-figure donation paid through a bank account linked to Burkes Peerage, a guide to the aristocracy.
A week later, in a further bombshell revelation, this newspaper exposed how Mr Fawcett, who was at Charless side for 40 years, offered to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz – a Saudi billionaire and a donor to the Foundation.
Mr Fawcett, 61, the Kings former valet, resigned as the Foundations chief executive shortly after being confronted with the MoSs evidence. His downfall was a huge blow to Charles the year before his mothers death and his accession to the throne. He is said to have once remarked: I can manage without just about anyone, except Michael.
But elsewhere in the Royal Family, claims Mr Wynne-Parker, there was gratitude to him for what was perceived as his role in bringing the controversy to light.
Last night he said: I was really chuffed to get a call from Prince Andrew. What he meant was the Queen was so thrilled that Fawcett was now finally exposed that she would have felt relief – thank God we wont have to deal with him again.
Mr Wynne-Parker claimed there were concerns about the considerable influence Mr Fawcett had over Charles.
He would say Sir, this is what we should do, this is how we should do it, and in a very busy life you would tend to go along with it.
Michael Wynne-Parker has been deemed unfit to serve as a charity trustee and disqualified from holding a senior position or trustee role in any charity for 12 years following an investigation into the Kings Foundation
The Charity Commission found that almost £200,000 in donations meant for the Kings Foundation were transferred to Mr Wynne-Parkers (Pictured right) private companys bank account
Michael Fawcett (Pictured with His Majesty and Queen Camilla in 2018) was previously accused of helping to secure the Saudi tycoon a CBE that was handed over by Charles in a private ceremony in 2016
However the case was later dropped by the Metropolitan Police two years later as detectives decided to take no further action (Pictured: Michael Fawcett outside his southwest London home)
The Palace and Mr Fawcett declined to comment last night.
Mr Wynne-Parker, who was an adviser to Dr Bin Mahfouz and a trustee of his charity, the Mahfouz Foundation, was last week ruled unfit to serve as a charity trustee following a probe by the Charity Commission. A damning inquiry found that he used the Foundation as a conduit to try to channel donations to The Kings Foundation.
A separate Charity Commission report on the Burkes Peerage Foundation said that trustees
William Bortrick and Mark Ayre misspent more than £113,000 of charity money, including £16,000 on an antique desk and bookcase that both ended up at Mr Bortricks home.
