King Charles has quietly reunited with one of his most controversial former aides, despite Prince William and Queen Camilla strongly advising him against it.
The Mail on Sunday reported on October 5 that, at an unspecified date, His Majesty met Michael Fawcett — his longtime valet-turned-confidant, inside Windsor Castle for the first time since Fawcett resigned in 2021 amid the cash-for-honours scandal.
The visit was reportedly conducted in secret, with Fawcett ushered through a side entrance and escorted out the same way in what one insider described as a “military-style operation.”
A Palace source told the outlet that such audiences are sometimes held for departing staff. But others see it as Charles extending an olive branch to a man he once considered indispensable.
The meeting, however, is said to have left Prince William and Queen Camilla uneasy and "dismayed." Both reportedly “warned” Charles that any public reconciliation with Fawcett — whose royal career has been marred by controversy — could prove “too damaging” for the monarchy.
But “His Majesty has never stopped feeling the loss of Michael being forced to resign,” a source said. “They’re kindred spirits. In the King’s eyes, Michael is innocent of what he was accused of.”
Word of the secret meeting has reignited tensions behind palace walls.
The scandal that forced Fawcett’s resignation erupted in 2021, when he was accused of offering to help a wealthy Saudi donor secure both British citizenship and a knighthood in exchange for large donations to The Prince’s Foundation.
While a charity watchdog later found that Fawcett had exposed the organisation to “substantial risk,” he was ultimately cleared of misconduct. The probe concluded that although there were “serious” management failures under his watch, his actions did not amount to wrongdoing.
