According to a report, the Prince of Wales received a £1 million donation to his charity from relatives of Osama bin Laden.
The Sunday Times alleged that the future king accepted payment from Bakr bin Laden, the patriarch of the Saudi family, and his brother Shafiq.
Prince Charles, 73, is said to have held a private meeting with Bakr, 76, at Clarence House in London on October 30, 2013, two years after Osama bin Laden was shot dead by forces US special forces at a compound near Islamabad in Pakistan, according to the newspaper.
Clarence House strongly disputes many of the claims, saying the decision to accept the donation to its charity, the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund (PWCF), was made solely by the trustees.
Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden are Osama’s half-brothers, related to the al-Qaida founder through their father Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a billionaire born in Yemen.
There is no suggestion that Bakr or Shafiq bin Laden have sponsored or are involved in acts of terrorism.
Sir Ian Cheshire, chairman of the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation (PWCF), where the money was deposited, said in a statement: “Sheikh Bakr Bin Laden’s donation in 2013 was carefully considered by PWCF’s trustees at the time .
“Due diligence was carried out and information was sought from a wide range of sources, including the government. The decision to accept the donation was made entirely by the trustees.
“Any attempt to suggest otherwise is misleading and inaccurate.”
A source close to the charity said that after a thorough examination of the issues, trustees concluded that the actions of one member of the bin Laden family should not tarnish the entire family.
A spokesman for Clarence House said: “The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Trust has assured us that due diligence was carried out in accepting this donation. “The decision to accept was made solely by the charity’s trustees and any attempt to characterize it otherwise is false.”
A source disputed suggestions that the prince had personally negotiated the deal, had accepted the donations despite advisers’ objections and that several advisers begged him in person to return the money.
The source also denied the prince was being urged to return the money and was told the sum “wouldn’t be good for anyone”.
It comes a month after it emerged the Prince of Wales accepted bags containing millions of euros in cash during meetings with Qatar’s former prime minister.
Last week, the Charity Commission said it would take no further action over reports that Charles received a total of €3m (£2.6m) during meetings with Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani.
The Sunday Times reported that the cash was delivered to the Prince of Wales in a suitcase on one occasion, a handbag on another, as well as carrier bags from Fortnum & Mason, the luxury department store which owns a royal order to supply the prince’s household. with groceries
The handovers were alleged to have taken place during meetings between the two men, including a private one-on-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015.
Each payment was deposited into PWCF accounts and there is no suggestion that the payments were illegal.
A spokesman for Clarence House said in June that money donated during the 2015 meeting was “passed immediately to one of the prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate covenants and assured us that all processes were followed correct”.