William Bortrick

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William Bortrick FRSA [1] (born April 1973) [2] is a British genealogist who is the owner, chairman and editor of Burke's Peerage. [3]

He studied history at the University of Oxford, [4] and Wolfson College, Cambridge. [5]

In September 2021, Prince Charles's closest aide Michael Fawcett "stepped down temporarily" as chief executive of The Prince's Foundation, [6] after an investigation by The Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday reported that he "offered to help to secure a knighthood and British citizenship" for a Saudi tycoon, who donated £1.5m to Prince Charles's charities. [7] Bortrick was named by the Sunday Times as the alleged fixer at the heart of the claims. Bortrick is said to have received thousands of pounds to secure the honour. [8] According to the Metropolitan Police, at least two complaints were made calling for an investigation into whether Prince Charles or Michael Fawcett breached the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. [9] In February 2022 the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the cash-for-honours allegations linked to Charles' charity The Prince's Foundation. [10] [11]

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References

  1. "THE WOLFSON REVIEW 2020–2021" (PDF). Wolfson College, Cambridge . Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  2. "William BORTRICK". Companies House . Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. "Day-by-day account of how Prince Charles's aides fixed a CBE for Saudi billionaire". The Times . Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. "Chairman". Burke's Peerage . Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  5. "OFFICERS NUMBER–LENT TERM 2008" (PDF). University of Cambridge . Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  6. Low, Valentine (8 September 2021). "Prince Charles has 'no knowledge' of cash-for-honours allegations". The Times.
  7. Pogrund, Gabriel; Gadher, Dipesh (4 September 2021). "Prince Charles aides fixed CBE for Saudi tycoon who gave £1.5m". The Sunday Times.
  8. Grierson, Jamie (19 September 2021). "Prince Charles 'cash-for-honours' scandal grows with fresh allegations". the Guardian.
  9. Scobie, Omid (7 September 2021). "Buckingham Palace's Statement Regarding Cash-for-Honors Allegations". Harper's Bazaar . Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  10. @metpoliceuk (16 February 2022). "We have launched an investigation into allegations of offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. Decision follows an assessment of a Sep 2021 letter, related to media reporting alleging offers of help made to secure honours and citizenship for a Saudi national" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  11. "Breaking: Met Police investigate cash-for-honours allegations against Prince Charles' charity". City A.M. Retrieved 16 February 2022.