Two former trustees at historical family genealogy charity Burke’s Peerage Foundation spent thousands of pounds of charitable money on antiques, paintings and statues.

In one instance a desk and bookcase were bought for £16,000 by one of the trustees William Bortrick, “and were then kept and used” at his home, according to a Charity Commission probe into the charity.

Bortrick and another trustee Mark Ayre have been handed 12-year bans from holding senior charity roles, for their role in the running of the Foundation, which has since been removed from the charities register.

The probe found they “failed to adequately safeguard the charity’s property by using charity funds to make purchases” that did not meet its objectives around genealogy and heritage education.

It found payments totalling just under £10,000 were made out to Bortrick on antiques, including a Prince Charlies investiture chair from 1969, a signed portrait of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon from 1922, and a 1930s porcelain figurine.

Other purchases made out to Bortrick included a painting by Edwin Hayes and a Bentwood hat and coat stand.

While the charity’s accounts recorded these as being part of a “heritage presentation” the Commission said: “It has not been fully explained by the trustees why these items were chosen to be presented, and the inquiry did not accept that these purchases educated the public about genealogy and personal heritage.”

The Commission concluded that Bortrick and Ayre were responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement of the charity.

They also “failed to manage conflicts of interest, misapplied charity funds, received unauthorised personal benefit and failed to submit accurate annual returns”, the regulator found.

“The inquiry found that the trustees had purchased items that did not further the charity’s purposes, including antique furniture, paintings and statues,” said the Commission.

They also paid for services that benefited a company linked to both trustees.

The are both the only directors of Burke’s Peerage Enterprise Limited and Burke’s Peerage Limited that focus on the trading side and naming rights of Burke’s Peerage guide.

This included the charity paying for insurance to cover legal fees to protect the Burke’s Peerage name.

During its investigation the Commission has recovered £113,000 of misapplied charity funds from Bortrick and Ayre.

After the Foundation was removed from the register in August last year its remaining £121,455 funds were passed to another genealogy and heritage focused charity.

“This report sets out very serious findings,” said Charity Commission critical case lead Angela Ascroft.

“Throughout the inquiry, Mr Bortrick and Mr Ayre provided contradictory statements and proved to be unreliable witnesses. They also failed in their most basic duty to act in the charity’s best interests and are responsible for serious misconduct and / or mismanagement.

“The Commission’s intervention means that, whilst disqualified, they can no longer be trustees or senior managers in charities. Our intervention also ensured that misapplied funds of more than £100,000 have been repaid and transferred to another charity.”

The Commission’s investigation was sparked after concerns about the Foundation emerged during a separate probe into The Mahfouz Foundation, which had links to the charity.

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