My confession: when Prince William hired his crisis manager Liza Ravenscroft earlier this year, I truly believed that the hire was more about William and Kate’s marriage and their Marie Antoinette-like image. I also thought Ravenscroft was hired because William is obsessed with his brother and his obsession has become an institutional crisis. While all of that may be true, it’s looking like Ravenscroft really was brought in to deal with the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein-related scandals unfolding right now. The Epstein Files are a major crisis for the monarchy, but it’s not just about Prince Andrew’s sordid relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s about how Epstein had so much access, and he had relationships with some powerful international figures. Figures like Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who emailed back and forth with Epstein for years. At one point, according to a newly-released email, bin Sulayem sent Epstein a “torture video.” Well, Ahmed bin Sulayem is CEO of DP World, which is a founding partner of Prince William’s Earthshot. DP World donated $1 million (at least) to Earthshot. William also had a photo-op with bin Sulayem in 2022, in Dubai. Well, as we discussed yesterday, now Republic has filed a complaint with the UK Charity Commission. The same Charity Commission which “investigated” Sentebale, remember?
Prince William must cut ties with his Earthshot Prize associate Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem over the Emirati’s links to Jeffrey Epstein and a “torture video,” anti-monarchy campaigners told Newsweek as they reported the charity to a U.K. regulator.
The Prince of Wales posed for photos with bin Sulayem in 2022 when the Dubai businessman announced £1 million in funding for the Earthshot Prize, William’s award project that funds innovative solutions to climate change.
Earthshot still lists Sulayem’s business, DP World, as an official partner on its website at a time when other organizations are reconsidering relations, such as Canada’s second largest pensions fund, La Caisse, which announced it was halting future deals. La Caisse’s statement said it had “made it clear to the company [DP World] that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions,” stressing it was “important to distinguish the company, DP World, from the individual, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.”
Britain’s leading anti-monarchy campaign group, Republic, announced in a press release on Wednesday that they had reported Earthshot to U.K. watchdog the Charity Commission, stating in the complaint that: “The seriousness of this matter requires a full and comprehensive investigation.”
Graham Smith, Republic’s chief executive, told Newsweek: “William has to explain this relationship and what he’s known about this man and distance himself from him [Sulayem]. The Earthshot charity also has to explain why they didn’t do due diligence and why they’ve accepted the million pounds from someone who is so clearly atrocious.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement: “We are aware of concerns about sources of funding to the Earthshot Prize. We are assessing this information to determine any next steps and if there is a role for the commission.”
Graham Smith at Republic is really going for it, like he smells blood in the water. Good for him – he’s pretty much the only person demanding that William is held the same standard as anyone else. Now, do I think the Charity Commission will do anything? Nah. They really f–ked over Sentebale and they basically said it was A-OK for Sophie Chanduka to liquidate the charity’s coffers and decimate Sentebale’s services, all because Prince Harry shouldn’t have walked away from royal life, remember? The fix is in, I’m sure. But that’s just it – even if the Charity Commission does nothing (which is what will happen), there’s this steady drumbeat of scandal around William too. It was easy for the British press to shrug off one secondhand Epstein connection, but William has now associated with several people intimately connected to Epstein (including William’s buddy Donald Trump).
Additionally, in People Magazine’s reporting of this story, they reached out to Earthshot and they didn’t get an on-the-record response. But they did get this: “PEOPLE understands Earthshot is talking with the DP World management team over the matter.” Surely the way to handle this would be to openly declare that Earthshot does not want to be associated with anyone involved with Jeffrey Epstein and/or torture videos, and that Earthshot is returning DP World’s seven-figure donation?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
