
Royal donor offered access to Prince of Wales for cash, reports say
Minerva Mondejar Steiner, a Filipina-Swiss millionaire, offered private meetings with William at the upcoming Royal Charity Polo Cup match in exchange for cash, the Sunday Times reported.
Her art gallery – the Mondejar Gallery – was an official sponsor of the annual charitable polo event which is taking place in Windsor next month.
Kensington Palace declined to comment.
It is understood that the Palace was unaware of what is being viewed as a rogue sponsor until alerted by the newspaper, and action was taken immediately.
The organisers of the event were not aware it was being used by the Mondejar Foundation to raise money, it is believed.
The Mondejar Foundation has been approached for comment.
The Royal Charity Polo Cup match is an exclusive event where charity donors can watch the prince play polo.
Among the guests at last year's match was TV presenter and interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and wife Jackie, who were seen taking a courtesy golf buggy around the site.
The event raised more than a £1 million for causes that William and Kate are passionate about, including Wales Air Ambulance, Child Bereavement UK, Place2Be, Action for Children and The Royal Marsden.
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They said her main goal is to fundraise for her father's technical college in her home city Tacloban in the Philippines, where she studied a BA in Computer Science, graduating in 1999. The Filipina 'collector and curator', who lives in Switzerland and is married to Swiss director Michael Steiner, studied fashion at University of the Arts London in 2003. She then took a further education course in art history at Oxford University from 2006 to 2008 and an Open University BA in Arts and Humanities from 2009 to 2011. This was followed by a PhD in Educational Management from the University of La Salette in the Philippines, listed on her LinkedIn as completed in January this year. Dr Mondejar Steiner was pictured with Prince Harry last September, at the annual awards of WellChild, a charity for sick children. Around the same time, she was also pictured with Benedict Cumberbatch at a film screening he hosted. It is unclear exactly how wealthy she is. 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Powys County Times
5 hours ago
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Royal donor offered access to Prince of Wales for cash, reports say
The Prince of Wales has cut ties with a donor after she attempted to sell access to him for £20,000, reports have suggested. Minerva Mondejar Steiner, a Filipina-Swiss millionaire, offered private meetings with William at the upcoming Royal Charity Polo Cup match in exchange for cash, the Sunday Times reported. Her art gallery – the Mondejar Gallery – was an official sponsor of the annual charitable polo event which is taking place in Windsor next month. Kensington Palace declined to comment. It is understood that the Palace was unaware of what is being viewed as a rogue sponsor until alerted by the newspaper, and action was taken immediately. The organisers of the event were not aware it was being used by the Mondejar Foundation to raise money, it is believed. The Mondejar Foundation has been approached for comment. The Royal Charity Polo Cup match is an exclusive event where charity donors can watch the prince play polo. Among the guests at last year's match was TV presenter and interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and wife Jackie, who were seen taking a courtesy golf buggy around the site. The event raised more than a £1 million for causes that William and Kate are passionate about, including Wales Air Ambulance, Child Bereavement UK, Place2Be, Action for Children and The Royal Marsden.