Scotland Yard gave Prince Charles a new headache on Wednesday, announcing that it had “opened an inquiry into accusations of crimes under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925” in respect to the heir to the throne’s charity, the Prince’s Foundation. The probe is being led by the Met’s Special Enquiry Team, which was in charge of the investigation into “partygate,” the political scandal involving parties and gatherings of Government and Conservative Party officials that allegedly occurred while Covid restrictions were in place.

Scotland Yard said in a statement that the Met Police decided to initiate the investigation after a “examination of a September 2021 letter.”

“This was in response to media reports that offers of assistance were made to gain honours and citizenship for a Saudi national,” the notification added.

“The Special Enquiry Team has carried out the assessment procedure, which included contacting persons thought to be in possession of pertinent material.”

The Prince’s Foundation, which also launched an internal investigation into the pay for honours allegations, is also cooperating with the investigation, according to the statement.

It read: “Officers liaised with The Prince’s Foundation about the findings of an independent investigation into fundraising practices.

“The Foundation provided a number of relevant documents.

“These documents were reviewed alongside existing information.

“The assessment determined an investigation will commence.

“There have been no arrests or undercover interviews.”

Michael Fawcett, Prince Charles’ closest adviser for decades, resigned as the charity’s CEO in November amid allegations that he aided a significant donor in receiving an honour.

He had announced his temporary resignation two months before when a number of British media revealed allegations that he had promised to help Saudi businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz obtain an honorary CBE and British citizenship.

According to the Sunday Times, Mr Mahfouz has already donated considerable sums to restoration projects of particular interest to Prince Charles.

In late 2016, the Saudi businessman, who denies any involvement, was awarded a CBE.

The Mail On Sunday released a letter from Mr Fawcett in 2017 in which he allegedly told the businessman that he was willing to make an application to change the CBE to a KBE – an honorary knighthood – and to support Mr Mahfouz’s citizenship application.

In September, Clarence House stated that Prince Charles had “no knowledge of the claimed promise of honours or British citizenship based on donations to his charities.”

Furthermore, the prince was believed to be completely supportive of the internal investigation into the allegations, the results of which were disclosed last December.