PRINCE Charles has taken over Prince Andrew’s former patronage following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The Prince of Wales is now patron of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) after the controversy around his brother’s friendship with the convicted sex offender.
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Andrew, 71, was relinquished of the post by the RPO Board in November 2019.
He stepped down from public duties following his disastrous Newsnight interview in which he was accused of lacking empathy for Epstein‘s victims.
Heir to the throne Charles, 72, stressed the importance of protecting the arts during the pandemic.
The orchestra, which has welcomed a new music director, Vasily Petrenko, has pledged to help communities recover from the Covid-19 crisis as it prepares to mark its 75th anniversary.
RPO managing director James Williams said he was honoured to have Charles as patron.
“At the RPO, we have been hard at work for some months, shaping a bold strategy for our concert, community engagement, inclusion and education programmes to enrich communities when it matters most; we aim to help people and businesses to rebuild after the long, dark months of lockdown,” he said.
“With the announcement of the Prince of Wales as our patron and the appointment of Vasily Petrenko as our new music director, the RPO is well placed to lead the resurgence and spread the joy of orchestral music in a post-Covid world.”
Andrew was involved in supporting the RPO for 15 years.
The funeral of his father the Duke of Edinburgh, on April 17, was his first appearance at an official royal event since he ended his time carrying out public duties.
Andrew has faced calls to speak to US prosecutors and the FBI, which intensified after his friend Ghislaine Maxwell was charged with recruiting girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.
Virginia Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager, said in an interview with BBC Panorama that she was left “horrified and ashamed” after an alleged sexual encounter with the duke in London in 2001.
Andrew categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.
Despite taking a step back from royal duties, it was reported today that Andrew has gone into business with a banker who quit after he was accused of groping young female staff.
The Duke of York has set up a company with Harry Keogh, once a star financier at the Queen’s bank, Coutts, who resigned in 2018 following a storm of sexual harassment claims.
Mr Keogh was disciplined after being accused of inappropriately touching young female staff.
He is a long-term friend of Andrew and was a guest at his daughter Princess Eugenie‘s wedding in 2018.
Their company, which was formed last June, will be a vehicle for Andrew’s family investments and will have an unlimited status, giving it a degree of privacy, The Times reports.
It is named Lincelles, after an 18th-century battle in which the Duke of York commanded the English against the French.
Also revealed today was that the Queen will “fade away gracefully” from royal duties following her husband Prince Philip’s death.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the monarch would step back from royal engagements from now on – with Prince Charles expected to take on a bigger role.
Mr Hunt told the New York Times: “Fundamentally, the Queen will fade away gracefully.
“Covid has helped in the sense that it has accelerated what any sensible 95-year-old woman would want to do, which is not stand on your feet all day long.”
