| (August 11, 1998)Prince William and Prince Harry will not become involved in running a
charity set up by their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, Buckingham Palace has
said. The Princess of Wales' Charities Trust, set up in 1981 with a £100 donation from
the Princess, made donations totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds to her favourite
causes.
Latest accounts from the Charity Commission show the private charity now has funds of
around £1 million.
It is understood that the trustees of the charity have written to the office of the
Prince of Wales asking for advice on how to allocate the remaining money.
The trustees are Michael Gibbons, who was the Princess's private secretary, and Sir
Matthew Farrer, who was the Queen's solicitor until 1994.
A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said she could not confirm whether the trustees had
written to William and Harry to ask them to become patrons.
But she added: "They are not going to be running the Princess of Wales Charities'
Trust. That is completely wrong."
The trust was financed from "fees" paid to Diana by organisations she
represented or visited, or by their sponsors.
It paid out £43,649 to more than 100 charities in 1995/6, including Great Ormond
Street Hospital, the South Somerset Domestic Violence Project and Hull Women's Aid Centre.
As a charity the trust was registered with the Charity Commission since it began and
published its accounts every year.
Henry Boyd-Carpenter, of Farrer and Co, solicitors to the trust, said it was a
"normal and active charity".
Other members of the Royal Family have similar trusts, including the Prince of Wales.
On Tuesday, The Times newspaper reported that Diana, Princess of Wales
ran a private charity which she used to make donations totalling hundreds of thousands of
pounds to favoured causes.
The Princess of Wales Charities' Trust was set up in 1981 with a £100 donation from
the Princess, and latest accounts filed at the Charity Commission show it has funds of
more than £1 million, according to The Times.
The trust's existence was kept secret during her lifetime and financed from
"fees" paid to her by organisations she represented or visited, or by their
sponsors, who were usually given a strong hint that a charitable donation might be a way
to thank her, the newspaper said.
Beneficiaries included glamour-free and controversial causes, it said. |