The Prince of Wales received a £1million donation to his charity from relatives of Osama bin Laden, according to a report.
The Sunday Times claimed the future king accepted payment from Bakr bin Laden, the patriarch of the Saudi family, and his brother Shafiq.
Prince Charles, 73, is scheduled to hold 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 US special forces at a compound near Islamabad in Pakistan have to the newspaper.
Clarence House strongly denies many of the allegations, saying the decision to accept the donation to his charity, the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF), was made solely by trustees.
Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden are half-brothers of Osama who are related to the founder of al-Qaeda through their father, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a Yemen-born billionaire.
There is no indication that Bakr or Shafiq bin Laden supported or participated in acts of terrorism.
Sir Ian Cheshire, chairman of the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation (PWCF), to which the money was deposited, said in a statement: “Sheikh Bakr Bin Laden’s donation in 2013 was carefully considered by the PWCF trustees at the time.
“Due diligence was carried out, gathering information from a variety 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 thoroughly reviewing the matter, the trustees have concluded that the actions of one of bin Laden’s family members should not taint the entire family.
A Clarence House spokesman said: “The Prince of Wales Charity Fund has assured us that all due care has been taken in accepting this donation. “The decision to adopt was made solely by the trustees of the charity and any attempt to characterize them otherwise is wrong.”
A source denied evidence that the prince personally brokered the deal, approved the donations despite advisers’ objections, and that several advisers personally implored him to return the money.
The source also denied the prince was asked to return the money and was told the sum “wouldn’t be good for anyone”.
It comes a month after it was revealed the Prince of Wales accepted bags containing millions of euros in cash during meetings with the former Prime Minister of Qatar.
Last week the Charity Commission said it would not take any further action against reports that Charles was paid a total of €3m (£2.6m) in meetings with Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani.
The Sunday Times reported that the cash was given to the Prince of Wales once in a suitcase, another time in a holdall and tote bags from Fortnum & Mason, the upmarket department store which holds a Royal Warrant to supply the Prince’s household with groceries.
The handovers are said to have taken place during meetings between the two men, including a private one-on-one meeting at Clarence House in 2015.
Every payment was deposited into PWCF’s accounts and there is no indication that the payments were illegal.
A Clarence House spokesman said in June that the money given during the 2015 meeting was “immediately passed on to one of the Prince’s charities who carried out the relevant arrangements and assured us that all the correct processes were being followed”.