The Duke of York has reportedly struck a deal to earn money by sharing contacts he made through his Pitch@Palace initiative.
Prince Andrew could earn millions under the deal with Startupbootcamp (SBC), based in the Netherlands, from the project which aimed to connect entrepreneurs with investors.
Pitch@Palace has faced scrutiny since Yang Tengbo, an alleged spy who headed the Chinese branch of the project, was banned from the UK last year on national security grounds.
Under the apparent new agreement, the Duke will be paid for each deal SBC agrees in worldwide territories.
It comes amid a row between the King and the Prince, 64, after the monarch cut his private security and £1 million allowance in October.
The King wants Andrew to move into Frogmore Cottage, the Duke of Sussex’s former residence, it is alleged
The move is believed to be the first step by the King to remove his younger brother from Royal Lodge, a 30-room property in Windsor thought to be worth £30 million which he is struggling to maintain, and into Frogmore Cottage, the Duke of Sussex’s former residence.
Officials from SBC reportedly pitched the idea to Buckingham Palace last year.
A source told The Sun: “[Prince Andrew] will earn money from each deal SBC secures from his Pitch@Palace work and the windfall will help enable him to hold on to Royal Lodge.
“It is a way of exploiting the enviable business links he has secured over the years.”
It is understood that the palace sought reputational assurances from SBC about the partnership and, as a result of the information shared, made no objections to the undertaking. However, the palace was not involved in negotiations around terms or contractual details as the Duke is a private individual.
The Prince has been struggling financially since he was stripped of his working royal titles by the late Queen three years ago.
He has also faced scrutiny over his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein following a disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019.
The Prince also stepped away from Pitch@Palace after the investigation into his relationship with Epstein came to light.
The Duke launched his Pitch@Palace initiative in China. Its leader there was accused of being a foreign agent and banned from the UK – Anthony Devlin/WPA /Getty
The Prince launched Pitch@Palace, which ran a Dragons’ Den-style business, in the UK in 2014 on a not-for-profit basis.
Two years later, he launched it overseas including in China, which was operated for profits.
Mr Yang, 50, a businessman, who was appointed to lead the Chinese branch, was unveiled last year as the suspected foreign agent involved in a spy scandal in the UK. He was banned from the UK on national security grounds in 2023.
Pitch@Palace has faced scrutiny following the revelation that Mr Yang allegedly visited Buckingham Palace twice and was invited to the Duke’s 60th birthday party.
Meanwhile, Business Matters reported in January that half of the cash balance at Pitch@Palace Global, the commercial arm of the scheme, was withdrawn in the space of a year.
The latest figures from Companies House show that the company’s funds fell from £454,979 to £220,990 in the 12 months to March 31 2024. The destination of the funds has not been listed, documents show.
