Prince Andrew Faces New Scrutiny Over Ties to Controversial Millionaire

Prince Andrew now faces additional scrutiny after reports indicated that one of his major business holdings was managed for two years by a firm run by Doug Barrowman.

After the prince’s well-known appearance on the Newsnight program in 2019 discussing his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, control over his entrepreneurial pitch event similar to Dragon's Den, called Pitch@Palace Global, was shifted to an entity linked to Barrowman named Knox House Trustees (UK).

The attorney for Mr. Barrowman asserted that he "never at any point... had any form of professional or personal connection with the duke."

According to the BBC, the contentious millionaire Barrowman and his spouse, businesswoman Baroness Michelle Mone who specializes in lingerie, recently admitted lying about their connections to a company that secured large government contracts during the Covid pandemic.

According to Companies House records, starting from 2021, Knox House Trustees (UK) acted as the nominal owner of the prince's enterprise.

Until 2023, this company was under the control and ownership of Mr. Barrowman.

Despite the shift in legal ownership, Pitch@Palace Global stayed under Prince Andrew's control.

This setup adhered to traditional royal protocols, wherein possessions were held through nominees—individuals or entities who technically own them but do so on behalf of the royals.

Prince Andrew has never owned the company under his personal name.

In recent years, the financial dealings of the Duke of York have faced significant examination.

There are ongoing questions about how he manages to keep up the maintenance of his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor since King Charles has cut him off financially.

The selection of business partners made by the prince has likewise caused some surprise.

In December, he stated that he had "ended all communication" with Yang Tengbo, who headed the Chinese division of Pitch@Palace, following UK government warnings suggesting that Yang might be a spy.

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Mr. Yang has refuted these claims.

Even though it halted activities after the 2019 Newsnight interview, Pitch@Palace Global could now serve as a possible funding option for the duke.

The global initiative featured contests held in places such as Australia, Bahrain, and China, and was set up as a profit-oriented enterprise based in the UK.

In his court testimony in 2023, Mr. Yang stated that Andrew required funds and viewed the connections with China via Pitch as a potential means of obtaining financial support.