A new study has revealed that Prince Andrew’s forced departure from 64 charity patronages in 2019 had no negative impact on their revenues, with approximately half of the organisations actually experiencing increased profits following his exit.
The research, conducted by philanthropic analysis organisation Giving Evidence, examined the financial performance of 35 charities before and after the Duke of York stepped down from royal duties following his controversial Newsnight interview about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The findings suggest that his royal patronage provided “negligible” benefit to the charities’ fundraising efforts, raising questions about the effectiveness of royal patronages for charitable revenue generation.
The study, titled “Prince Andrew’s Charity Patronages: Analysis of the Effects on the Charities”, was authored by Caroline Fiennes, founder of Giving Evidence, and Dr Clemens Jarnach, a data scientist and political sociologist.
Prince Andrew dealt fresh humiliation as new study calls charity legacy into question.
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The researchers analysed revenue changes in the duke’s former charities’ accounts and compared them with similar charities over the same period.
They conducted six linear regression difference-in-differences analyses to determine any measurable impact.
The report concluded: “We find no evidence that Prince Andrew’s patronage of charities helped the charities in terms of revenue: there was no discernible decline in their revenue when his patronage ended.”
Several charities experienced substantial revenue increases after Andrew’s departure.
Prince Andrew is now rarely seen in public.PAThe Fly Navy Heritage Trust saw its revenue surge by 346 per cent, whilst Children North East recorded a 56 per cent increase and Yorkshire Air Ambulance grew by 47 per cent.
However, not all organisations benefited. Both the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and City Gateway experienced revenue decreases of 68 per cent.
The study examined charities across various sectors, with social services representing the largest number of Andrew’s former patronages, followed by education, culture and sport.
Despite being the Duke of York, only two of the 35 analysed charities were based in Yorkshire.
Prince Andrew was forced to depart from 64 charity patronages in 2019.
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Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis photographed together in 2019 at Buckingham Palace.
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The findings have broader implications for royal patronages generally. Fiennes told the Times: “We investigated whether anything happened to the revenue of his patronee charities before and after the patronage ended, which did not also happen to all other charities … It didn’t.”
The report noted that “charities which want revenue may be wasting their time in seeking, securing and/or servicing a royal patron”.
Previous research by Giving Evidence in 2020 found similar patterns with other royal charities, despite such patronages accounting for 26 per cent of all official engagements by seven senior royals in 2019.
The researchers acknowledged potential non-financial benefits of royal patronage, including press coverage or staff morale, but noted these could not be analysed due to inconsistent reporting across charities.
