THE Prince of Wales has risked arousing strong controversy over the role of Michael Fawcett, who resigned last week from St James’s Palace, by awarding him the contract for Prince William’s 21st birthday party, which will be attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The presence of other senior members of the Royal Family at the social event, which is to be held at Windsor Castle in June, will be a huge publicity coup for Mr Fawcett’s new events management company. The Prince of Wales has brushed aside any criticism and is insisting that Mr Fawcett, who had already begun planning for the event, be allowed to finish the job.

Last week The Times reported that Prince William feared that if Mr Fawcett left St James’s Palace over his central role in the sale of royal gifts for personal gain, he would sell his memoirs for bids reputed to be in the region of £2 million. St James’s Palace announced Mr Fawcett’s enforced resignation on Thursday, only minutes after the publication of the report by Sir Michael Peat, the Prince of Wales’s Private Secretary, into the collapse of the Paul Burrell trial.

A senior royal source said: “Michael’s already started preparatory work for the party. The work is ongoing. He is in charge. It’s what he does best.”

Other guests on the list include the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and the exiled King Constantine of Greece. Young Royals such as Zara and Peter Phillips will also attend the party, which will generate worldwide publicity and help to establish Mr Fawcett’s company as the leader in its field.

While there may be potential for embarrassment, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will definitely attend. The source added: “The Royal Family regard 21, not 18, as the official coming of age.”

The Times has learnt that the Prince of Wales was “appalled” when he read the 100-page report by Sir Michael, which was more critical than had been predicted. The Prince reluctantly agreed to its publication without any amendment.

The source said: “The point has been made that if he was a Cabinet minister he would have faced calls for his resignation, but what Cabinet minister would even agree to a report like this being written, let alone to publishing it? I don’t think he has been given enough credit for what he has done and agreeing to act on all its recommendations.”

The report was heavily critical of the Prince for financially benefiting from the sale of official and private gifts, and for not having in place any system of registering the receipt or disposal of the gifts. Any gifts the Prince receives in the future will be regarded as presents for the Queen, who will have the final say on their disposal.

More than £50,000 is to be spent on upgrading storage facilities at St James’s Palace and Highgrove to ensure that there is no repetition of gifts being ruined by damp.

Mr Fawcett leaves the employment of St James’s Palace at the end of the month to set up his company, as yet unnamed, in London. The Prince had guaranteed an undisclosed amount of work for Mr Fawcett.

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