Prince Andrew's Business Backers Start to Back Away

More fallout after an interview that one royal watcher dubbed "a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion level bad." Brands have begun retreating from organizations and initiatives supported by Prince Andrew in the wake of his interview on the relationship he had with Jeffrey Epstein, the New York Times reports. As the AP explains, the more prominent members of the royal family typically lend their name and support to "charities and other civic endeavors," and Andrew numbers among them. Standard Chartered bank and KPMG won't re-up their support of his Pitch@Palace entrepreneur project, and AstraZeneca says it is weighing whether to do so.

The Guardian reports Pitch@Palace is much what it sounds like, with entrepreneurs vying for a shot at pitching to business bigwigs at places like Buckingham Palace. It's said to have led to at least 6,000 new jobs, and one source tells the paper it's possible a younger royal, like William or Harry, could stand in for Andrew so as to keep the successful program going. The AP also reports on an "unprecedented" situation at the University of Huddersfield, where a student panel has moved to have Andrew removed as chancellor—a "ceremonial post," per the Guardian—due to his "ties to organized child sexual exploitation and assault." The university has said that it will be conferring with the student body in the "coming weeks." (Meanwhile, two Epstein guards are charged.)