According to the British newspaper, the son of Queen Elizabeth II accepted the donation in 2013, two years after the execution of the founder of Al Qaeda by US special troops during a raid on the housing complex where he was hiding in Pakistani territory.
The money for the charitable foundation chaired by the Prince of Wales was offered to him by two of bin Laden’s half-brothers after Charles met them both at his London residence in Clarence House, the publication added.
The office of the heir to the British throne confirmed the receipt of the funds, and assured they were only accepted after carrying out all the necessary steps, and verifying a wide variety of sources, including the British government.
Any attempt to suggest otherwise is untrue, the Clarence House statement said, referring to claims in the Sunday Times that some foundation officials had expressed doubts about the wisdom of accepting the donation.
The revelations about the money given by the bin Laden family come a month after it emerged that Prince Charles accepted a suitcase containing €1 million in cash from a former Qatari prime minister.
At the time, the British royal’s office said the donation was immediately given to one of the charitable foundations he chairs, and all due process was followed.
The government commission in charge of ensuring the origin of the funds managed by charities and charitable organizations in the United Kingdom then declined to initiate an investigation.
The London Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, have been investigating a complaint since February that an aide to Prince Charles offered titles and British citizenship to a Saudi millionaire in exchange for donations to foundations.
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