Prince William reassesses Royal patronages in light of Prince Andrew’s case
Prince William is believed to have taken a keen interest in new research that appears to support his long-held doubts about the effectiveness of the Royal Family’s patronage system.
According to reports, the Prince of Wales has shown that insiders describe as a ‘forensic interest’ in findings published by the research organisation Giving Evidence.
The study found that when Prince Andrew was ordered to give up his royal patronages, the charities involved experienced little to no financial impact.
A source speaking to Daily Mail claimed that Prince William sees this data as potentially relevant to the broader system of royal patronage. William has previously expressed a desire to focus his efforts on a limited number of causes where he can make a ‘real and measurable differences,’ rather than adopting the traditional model of holding numerous symbolic roles.
The insider revealed that the Prince believe this research ‘could be applied across the board’ to reassess the system.
They added that the conventional setup often provides little more than ‘garden party invitations, the occasional royal visit, and a slim chance of an honour like an MBE-benefits that may have minimal influence on actual fundraising or charity outcomes.
Giving Evidence analysed the financial records of 35 charities before and after Prince Andrew stepped down from his duties in 2019, following his controversial Newsnight interview about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The analysis found negligible financial differences in the charities’ performance post his resignation.