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Prince Charles stood in the grand entrance hall of Dumfries House and shook hands with veteran fundraiser Michael Wynne-Parker warmly.

A few yards away, dressed smartly in a pinstripe suit, smiled William Bortrick, the editor of the aristocratic Burke’s Peerage Bible.

The three men were gathered to celebrate and appreciate the generosity of another character in the room, Dr. Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, to celebrate.

Company leader Wynne-Parker was an adviser to the Saudi businessman who had agreed to donate a significant sum to Dumfries House, the 18th century Palladian manor house in Ayrshire.

Established by the future king, the Prince’s Foundation has worked for years to painstakingly – and expensive – restoring the property, with Charles overseeing every detail.

The event in October 2014 for the opening of a landscape garden and one named after Dr. Well named bin Mahfouz celebrated the first of a series of generous donations he made to the prince’s projects.

Prince Charles stood in the grand entrance hall of Dumfries House and warmly shook hands with the experienced fundraiser Michael Wynne-Parker (pictured above). The three men were gathered to celebrate and pay tribute to the generosity of another character in the room, Dr. Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz (in the picture, back right).

The following year, he reportedly donated £ 370,000 to the Castle of Mey, the Highlands retreat that once belonged to the Queen Mother and is now another charity run by Charles.

On this occasion, a nearby forest was named in honor of the merchant and six benches were given plaques with his name and those of his relatives.

However, helping Charles may have meant more than benches and trees.

A letter The Mail received on Sunday shows that the Prince’s Foundation was “ready and happy” to accept Dr. Am Mahfouz to support British citizenship and to recommend him for a knighthood.

Last week, Mr Wynne-Parker (pictured) claimed he had arranged a total of £ 2 million in donations from a Saudi businessman who had been invited to Dumfries House several times

The author of the note, written in August 2017, was Michael Fawcett, one of Charles’ most influential contributors.

The reveal brings the royal “cash for access” scandal much closer to the prince’s front door.

Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed an email written by Mr. Wynne-Parker describing how customers can pay six-figure sums to secure dinner with Charles and an overnight stay at Dumfries House.

Toffs’ leader with links to Putin’s top sport

After the once-revered aristocratic guidebook Burke’s Peerage was out of print for nearly two decades, it may no longer be required reading in the country’s mansions – but the name is still a strong calling card.

A well-known figure in London’s private clubs and dining rooms, Chairman William Bortrick is often seen in the background at many of the events and ceremonies attended by society fixer Michael Wynne-Parker.

He is also a member of the founding board of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, led by Mr. Wynne-Parker, and has faced controversial allegations that it is a front for Russian influence.

Mr. Wynne-Parker has dismissed such claims as “insane” and insists that society is a religious and cultural organization.

Mr. Bortrick is also an advisor to the Commonwealth Sambo Association, which advocates a Russian martial art and martial art that could appear in the 2028 Olympics and that has strong support from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Combat techniques were developed by the Soviet Red Army in the early 1920s to improve unarmed combat.

Mr. Wynne-Parker is president of the club and regularly conducts combat events.

The links between the two men will be put to the test after claims that donations to the Prince’s Foundation could be sent through a Burke’s Peerage bank account.

Mr Bortrick has denied any wrongdoing and that the proposed agreement, which was published in an email written by Mr Wynne-Parker and published by The Mail on Sunday last weekend, was ever discussed with him.

He said that if he had been told about it, he would have “hit the covers” because it was so inappropriate.

Burke’s Peerage was founded in 1826 by the genealogist John Burke and has been expanded into various editions over the years.

The company was run from 1974 to 1983 by entrepreneur Jeremy Norman, who founded the gay nightclub Heaven and the fitness chain Soho Gyms.

The title was bought in 2013 by Mr. Bortrick, who now runs it with Canadian investor and entrepreneur Sam Malin.

Irene Major, who is Malin’s wife and lives with him in a Gothic mansion in Kent, wrote on her Instagram page last week: “I am not involved in selling access to Prince Charles and I am annoyed by any implication I have do; Any engagement I have with the royal family is for charitable purposes. ‘

Burke’s Peerage says on its website that it intends to publish further editions but is still in the process of updating the records. The last printed edition was in 2003.

One of the companies that Bortrick is a director of, Burke’s Peerage Enterprises, had net worth just £ 3,797 as of the end of March, while another, Burke’s Peerage, had net worth of £ 1.9 million.

In the email, he suggested charging a five percent commission for each donation, with the money being made through the bank account of Mr. Bortrick’s company Burke’s Peerage Ltd.

Last week, Mr Wynne-Parker claimed to have arranged a total of £ 2 million in donations from a Saudi businessman who had been invited to Dumfries House on several occasions.

He did not say whether the donor was Dr. bin Mahfouz or whether he had accepted fees or commissions.

A spokesman for Dr. Bin Mahfouz said last night that Mr Wynne-Parker advised the businessman until 2019 and was trustee of his foundation until 2017.

However, he insisted that Mr. Wynne-Parker played no part in the donation to Dumfries House, but advised him to donate to the Castle of Mey project, although there was no fee or commission for doing so.

“Mr. Wynne-Parker was a patron of the Castle of Mey before meeting His Excellency and advising him to support this charity,” said the spokesman.

“This led His Excellency to be invited to explore the work of Dumfries House. Mr. Wynne-Parker was aware of the Dumfries House trial, but was not involved in it. ‘

The affair is the latest colorful chapter in Mr. Wynne-Parker’s history of financial mishaps and misjudgments.

Once an aspiring politician who ran unsuccessfully as a Tory candidate in the Norfolk local elections, he was elected chairman of the Conservative Norwich Candidate Committee in August 1974.

He soon became a regular at the Monday Club, Westminster’s right-wing pressure group affiliated with the Conservative Party, and proved to be a masterful networker who ingratiated himself with influential businessmen, politicians, and royalty.

At a book presentation he even introduced Saif Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, to Margaret Thatcher.

Through the Monday Club, Mr. Wynne-Parker met Jonathan Guinness, a scion of the brewing and banking family and now a peer, Lord Moyne.

The couple worked on a number of business ventures with Mr. Wynne-Parker’s consulting firm Introcom.

In his 2011 book When My Table Could Talk, Wynne-Parker wrote of these endeavors: “Although we have not been very successful financially, we have had many adventures.”

One project was an airline called Tajik Air that ran into financial difficulties and ceased operations in 1994 despite Mr Wynne-Parker organizing a summit meeting between then Tajik Prime Minister Abdujalil Samadov and Ms. Thatcher.

The City of London Fraud Department was reportedly turned on following complaints from creditors.

Mr. Wynne-Parker said at the time that Introcom was not financially involved, but merely provided consulting services.

Undeterred, Mr. Wynne-Parker and Lord Moyne launched Access To Justice, which rented offices and provided free legal advice to those seeking to overturn their convictions for alleged miscarriages of justice.

It was alleged that the company had misrepresented itself as a charity and that a convicted fraudster was involved in its business.

Margaret Beckett, then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, obtained an injunction to shut down the company in the public interest.

Both Mr. Wynne-Parker and Lord Moyne were banned from serving as directors of the company for five years in 2000 due to their roles in Access To Justice.

It wasn’t the first time Mr. Wynne-Parker had been reprimanded by regulators.

Ten years earlier, his firm, Wynne-Parker Financial Management, had been shut down by financial regulators.

He was found guilty of 16 wrongdoing and fined £ 10,000, with a judge saying the businessman had “the clear modus operandi of a crook”.

“I was never taught to do business,” Wynne-Parker said in a 2003 interview. “I’m not the type of guy who cares about money.”