The commercial arm of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s entrepreneurs scheme, Pitch@Palace Global LTD, has withdrawn almost all its remaining funds as King Charles formally stripped his brother of his official titles. It comes as Andrew is set to move to Sandringham Estate, where his living arrangements will be privately funded by the King.
Pitch@Palace was created as a scheme to help entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses by connecting them with investors and mentors. When it launched in 2014, the program attracted funding from major corporations, thanks largely to its royal backing.
It was incorporated in February 2017 as the commercial arm of the business, a means for Andrew to make money. The contracts contained a clause allowing him to take a percentage cut of any investment deal for a specified period.
The initiative involved him travelling the world, hosting events that brought together leaders from the worlds of business, technology and politics.
In 2019, after being ordered by Queen Elizabeth II to step back from public duties, after his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, he was forced to sever ties with the charitable arm of the project.
Accounts filed at Companies House on Thursday show that in the financial year to March this year the amount of cash at hand at Pitch@Palace Global Ltd went from £220,990 to £10,965.
The document shows the withdrawal was signed by the company’s sole director, Arthur Lancaster, on behalf of the board. It does not state what the money was used for or to whom it was paid.
According to the latest accounts, the company is now “in the process of being wound up”.
Andrew lost his titles and gave up his lease of the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge in Windsor last month amid growing concerns about his connection to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and after a “discussion with the King”.
It comes as the US Congress has written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor requesting an interview with him in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said it is investigating the late financier’s “sex trafficking operations” and “financial records such as ‘massage for Andrew’, raise serious questions”.
The late Virginia Giuffre, who died in April, accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her after being introduced by Epstein. Andrew has always vehemently denied her accusations.
