Beleaguered Prince Andrew is to stand down from more than 230 charities.
The decision to lower his public profile comes as he’s drawn further into the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.
Buckingham Palace said the Prince is “standing back from all his patronages” – however, he hopes to return.
The sex furore followed allegations by Virginia Giuffre that the Prince slept with her she was aged 17.
A few organisations have already taken the lead in dropping Prince Andrew.
Last week he resigned as patron of the Outward Bound Trust, and from London Metropolitan University following a governors’ meeting.
He has also lost his patronages with English National Ballet and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
And, the University of Huddersfield dropped him as Chancellor following pressure from students.
They felt he was “unfit for the role because of his association with a known paedophile [Epstein]”.
Jeffrey Epstein
The Prince’s problems escalated after giving an ill-thought interview to the BBC.
He showed little or no remorse for friendship with Epstein, who was later found dead in his prison cell.
And, he failed to show sympathy for the young vulnerable victims.
A Buckingham Palace statement read:
“The duke has over 230 patronages.
“He will be stepping back from public duty and temporarily standing back from all his patronages.
“The duke will continue to work on Pitch@palace and will look at how he takes this forward outside of his public duties, and outside of Buckingham Palace.
“We recognise there will be a period of time while this transition takes place.”
The Prince has said he’s willing to help “any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations [into Epstein] if required”.
