Buckingham Palace announced yesterday that the Duke of York’s has been stripped of what was left of his charity patronages and other royal associations.
Prince Andrew stepped back from active royal duties in 2019 and several charities had already dropped him as a patron.
In a statement the Royal Family said: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.
“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
Prince Andrew faces civil action in the US over sexual assault allegations. He has always denied the claims.
Charity connections
At one point Prince Andrew is estimated to have held around 200 patronages in support of charities, military bodies, education establishments, as well as a number of golf clubs and yacht clubs.
In November 2019, after admitting to an “ill-judged” association with Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew stepped back from carrying out patron duties.
At that point a number of charities, including RNID, The Outward Bound Trust, University of Huddersfield and English National Ballet cut ties with the royal.
By May 2020, the Telegraph identified 50 charities that had ended their relationship with the duke. But two charities admitted to Civil Society News that they had kept him on as patron.
Furthermore in June 2020, the Charity Commission found that the duke’s own charity, the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust (PACT) breached charity law over payments to a trustee, totalling £355,297.
PACT has now closed. A new charity, Idea Foundation, was set up to continue some of its work.
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