The Prince of Wales was forced to cut ties with a donor to his charities after she attempted to sell access to him for £20,000.
Minerva Mondejar Steiner was a sponsor of William’s annual charitable polo event last summer and offered a private meeting with the prince in exchange for cash. And she also offered “VIP tickets” and “access to royalty” for advertisers prepared to pay £50,000 to feature in a magazine to be passed out at the polo match.
The explicit nature of the emails has echoes of the cash-for-access scandals involving the King when he was Prince of Wales. Charles always insisted he had no knowledge of any fundraising deals, but was repeatedly found to have met donors who gave money on the explicit condition of meeting him personally or attending black-tie dinners at one of his residences.