He’s the highly controversial former valet who has been forced to resign from service three times amid questions over his conduct.

Yet The Mail on Sunday can reveal today that the King has had a secret meeting with Michael Fawcett inside Windsor Castle.

Mr. Fawcett was quietly guided into the royal residence through a rarely utilized side entrance. Following his visit, he was escorted out in the same manner through a ‘military-style operation’ organized by senior Palace officials.

It is first time the two men have met since Mr Fawcett, 62, quit as chief executive of the King’s charity in 2021 after a cash-for-honours scandal exposed by this newspaper.

For Charles, the reunion was a chance to heal old wounds with his former right-hand man from whom he was once inseparable.

But it is likely to dismay other senior royals, including Prince William, who was reportedly pleased to see the back of the man who was said consider himself ‘more royal than the Royals’.

Last night, a well-placed source said: ‘His Majesty has never stopped feeling the loss of Michael being forced to resign. He often confides that this is the one person he can scarcely do without.

‘They’re kindred spirits. This is about righting wrongs. In the King’s eyes, Michael is innocent of what he was accused of. The King relied so much on Michael. He had the King’s back.’

King Charles and Michael Fawcett pictured together at the Granary Accommodation in 2021

Fawcett was smuggled into the royal apartments through a rarely used side entrance

The apparent rapprochement comes despite William and Queen Camilla having warned the King that any formal comeback would be ‘too damaging’.

News of the meeting spread among staff, many of whom have a jaundiced view of the former valet. One said he ‘ruled the roost and often made lives difficult’. Another insider said: ‘Yes, he’s been cleared, but the stain lingers.’

It is understood the meeting was kept quiet to avoid speculation. A Palace source said: ‘While we wouldn’t comment on individual private meetings, His Majesty often holds farewell audiences for departing senior staff. Some of these can been subject to delay, due to diary pressures, circumstance or ill health.’

Mr Fawcett’s most recent decision to ‘fall on his sword’ in 2021 came after he offered to help a wealthy Saudi donor obtain a knighthood and British citizenship.

Earlier this year, a charity watchdog found that Mr Fawcett had exposed what was then called The Prince’s Foundation to ‘substantial risk’ in the scandal, but he was cleared of misconduct. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator found Mr Fawcett had been appointed to run the charity with no formal responsibilities or job description and was effectively given carte blanche.

It found that during Mr Fawcett’s tenure there had been ‘serious’ and ‘unacceptable’ failures in management and highlighted the handling of donations, including one from Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who gave the charity £1.5 million.

But it found Mr Fawcett’s actions did not amount to misconduct, and also cleared current and ex-trustees. Mr Mahfouz, 55, had already received a CBE from Charles at a private ceremony in Buckingham Palace in 2016 when Mr Fawcett told him the charity would ‘contribute to the application for citizenship’ and apply for his honour to be increased to a knighthood.

Police launched an investigation but announced in 2023 that they would take no further action.

This newspaper exposed Mr Fawcett’s offer in 2021, a week after publishing a leaked email in which society fixer Michael Wynne-Parker told an anonymous recipient how a six-figure donation could secure dinner with Charles and an overnight stay at the foundation’s Scottish base, Dumfries House.

Mr Fawcett started his 40-year royal career as a lowly footman to the Queen in 1981 and rose through the ranks

A general view of Dumfries House in Ayrshire – the headquarters of the King’s Foundation

Mr Wynne-Parker later claimed the late Queen was ‘thrilled’ that Mr Fawcett had been ‘exposed’ and that she was relieved the family ‘won’t have to deal with him again’, amid wider concerns about his influence.

Indeed, Charles is said to have once remarked: ‘I can manage without just about anyone, except Michael.’

Mr Fawcett started his 40-year royal career as a lowly footman to the Queen in 1981 and rose through the ranks.

In 1998, when he was assistant valet to Charles, three other servants accused him using his closeness to the Prince to ‘throw his weight around’. He resigned, yet was back a week later, and with a promotion, becoming Charles’s ‘indispensable’ personal assistant.

In 2003, Mr Fawcett was accused of selling unwanted royal gifts and pocketing a share of the proceeds, earning him the nickname ‘Fawcett the Fence’. An internal inquiry cleared him of financial misconduct but found he had received gifts. He quit the Royal Household but continued to enjoy the prince’s patronage as a freelance fixer. He was later made chief executive of Dumfries House, becoming head of The Prince’s Foundation in 2018.

The King’s reunion with Mr Fawcett comes as he had his first face-to-face meeting with Prince Harry since February 2024. Some sources suggest this signifies Charles is considering a full return to duties following his cancer treatment.

More likely, however, he is seeking to finally to draw a line under two painful episodes that have tarnished his family.