Most of it's boring

Brother, can you spare a halalah?*

HRH Prince Charles' financial relationship with the Middle East isn't limited to accepting shopping bags stuffed with drinking tokens from Qatari prime ministers. In 2013, he accepted donations to his charitable fund from a Saudi family by the name of Bin Laden. The family's most well-known son—a cheeky wee scamp named Osama—was apparently a bit of a wild child, whom they disowned in 1994.

Once again, I'm sure that this is just an unfortunate misunderstanding, and all transactions were above board. But it does seem that, as we prepare to bid farewell to the bouncing bombsite, Charlie's stepping up to take BoJo's place as the UK's official embarrassment.


10 halalas coin, obverse* Or ten halalas, probably.