First Pitch@Palace event since Prince Andrew’s disastrous BBC Jeffrey Epstein interview goes ahead tonight without the Toxic Duke and it is not at Buckingham Palace either
- Tonight’s Meet the Entrepreneurs event is first after Duke’s Newsnight interview
- His private secretary claimed relocation is due to the General Election tomorrow
- Corinthia Hotel source says they wouldn’t have taken event if Andrew was going
Prince Andrew’s Dragon’s Den style Pitch@Palace has moved out of Buckingham Palace for its first event since his car crash Newsnight interview.
Tonight is the organisation’s first event since the Duke of York was grilled on his relationship with convicted US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
It was due to take place at Buckingham Palace but has been relocated to the Corinthia Hotel in central London at the last minute, hotel sources told MailOnline.
The Duke, 59, is not attending after the Queen forced him to withdraw from royal duties in the wake of the car crash TV appearance, sources told The Telegraph.
Prince Andrew’s Dragon’s Den style Pitch@Palace has moved out of Buckingham Palace for its first event since his car crash Newsnight interview
It was moved from Buckingham Palace to the Corinthia Hotel in central London (pictured)
Tonight’s event is called ‘Meet the Entrepreneurs’ and sees them pitching ideas to experts.
Investors are reported to have received a text from the Duke’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk saying the venue had changed at the last minute.
She claimed it was due to the General Election tomorrow. Buckingham Palace has not commented.
Andrew agreed to withdraw from public duty but initially wanted to remain a figurehead for Pitch@Palace, some 200 charities and other affiliations.
Tonight is the organisation’s first event since the Duke of York was grilled on his relationship with convicted US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (mugshot pictured)
At the end of his disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis he said he planned to continue with Pitch@Palace and his other business schemes.
But he was forced to back down afters several sponsors made it clear they no longer wanted his backing.
The organisation is believed to be dropping ‘Palace’ from its name.
At least 23 organisations have either dropped the Duke or accepted his resignation, including the English National Ballet, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Outward Bound Trust.
In the immediate fallout, one of the country’s leading accountancy firms, KPMG, revealed it had stopped sponsoring Pitch@Palace to protect its reputation.
KPMG bosses decided to end the relationship last month due to ‘unsavoury’ issues stemming from the Duke’s friendship with Epstein.
The firm was a founding partner and had paid up to £100,000 a year in sponsorship since 2014.
Several other major companies and charities said they were also considering their links with Andrew in the wake of his extraordinary television interview about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca said it was reviewing its relationship with Pitch@Palace, while insurance firm Aon asked for its name be removed from the scheme’s website.
Aon sources insisted that the company is not associated with the Duke’s scheme and that the supposed relationship had been publicised in error.
At the end of his disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis he said he planned to continue with Pitch@Palace and his other business schemes