Now Andrew’s charity seems to be in trouble
PRINCE Andrew’s charity is in trouble with regulators after it was served with a default notice for failing to submit its annual accounts.
The Charity Commission has confirmed it has contacted trustees of The Prince Andrew Charitable Trust over “a number of regulatory issues”, including the late filing of its yearly return.
The Duke of York’s charity has been flagged with a red warning notice on the commission’s website as its accounts are 51 days overdue.
It was meant to have filed them by the end of January after being served with at least two reminder notices.
News of the missed deadline and other issues about its operations has sparked further concerns about the charity’s future. Several major backers have already cut their ties with the Trust following Andrew’s “car crash” interview with Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in November, when he was questioned about his friendship with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke, 60, has always denied any wrongdoing.
Last year his trust, which is understood to employ 19 people, declared an income of around £1.4million, with money going to help young people in business, education and sport.
Legal responsibility to file its accounts lies with its trustees, who do not include Andrew. But he is its public face after founding it in 1984. The
Charity Commission warns a failure to file accounts on time “indicates a lack of transparency on the part of the charity”, which can damage its reputation and its ability to raise funds.
The watchdog said: “We are currently engaging with the trustees of the Princeandrew Charitabletrust about a number of regulatory issues, including their failure to file the accounts on time. Whilst our engagement is ongoing, we cannot comment further.” Most of the trust’s activities are set up through wholly owned subsidiaries, whose projects include Pitch@palace, a Dra-gon’s Den-style initiative that has hosted events at Buckingham Palace and puts young entrepreneurs in touch with investors. However, blue-chip companies such as Barclays and KPMG have pulled out following the Prince’s BBC interview.
There are now plans to relaunch Pitch@palace under a new name. It has also removed Andrew’s name from the home page of its website.
Another of the projects linked to the trust, the Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (IDEA), has lost a big backer, BT, because of concerns about the Duke’s patronage. BT has hinted it has not ruled out supporting the awards in the future.
Buckingham Palace has previously issued a statement confirming that Andrew would be “temporarily” standing down as patron of 230 organisations after he announced he was stepping back from public life.
Solicitors Farrer & Co, which represent his trust, said: “We do not comment about our clients.”