THE Queen’s decision to strip Prince Andrew of his royal patronages has brought an end to his association with the Royal Jersey Golf Club.
Although the club was making no official comment yesterday, the position regarding the Duke of York was made clear in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace.
The statement read: ‘With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.’
Royal Jersey secretary Darren Attwood said that he was unable to comment as the club had not received any advice from Buckingham Palace. ‘We only know what we have read in the press,’ he said.
The JEP understands that a picture of Prince Andrew has been removed from the Royal Jersey clubhouse in Grouville but, when asked about this, Mr Attwood said that he was unable to comment.
Club officials were due to discuss the matter at a management committee meeting scheduled for next Thursday, Mr Attwood added.
The Queen’s decision, which included a stipulation that Prince Andrew should no longer use the title of His Royal Highness, came in the wake of the sexual assault case against him in the US.
Prince Andrew is preparing to fight a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre after a judge in New York rejected his attempt to have the case against him dismissed.
The patronage of Royal Jersey was one of an estimated 230 held by Prince Andrew before he stood down from royal duties in November 2019. These included charities, military units and golf clubs, although it was reported in the UK media that more than 100 organisations had already dropped him as their patron over the past two years.
In December 2019 the Grouville-based club advised members that Prince Andrew would remain as a patron at that point.
In a letter to members, the club stated that while it recognised that the allegations against the Duke were serious, it would be ‘inappropriate’ to judge him in the light of the principle that individuals should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
The UK media has reported that Prince Andrew’s roles have been handed back to the Queen with immediate effect for redistribution to other members of the royal family. Sources stressed that they would not be returned to Andrew.
The move came after more than 150 military veterans wrote to the Queen calling for the honorary military roles to be removed amid what they described as their ‘upset and anger’.
In addition to Royal Jersey, other golf clubs with which Prince Andrew has been associated are the Royal & Ancient, one of the governing bodies of global golf, and the Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, of which he was a patron, and which he visited when the club staged the Open Championship in 2019.
There was controversy in February 2020 when then Constable Chris Taylor opted to fly the Union Flag from St John Parish Hall to mark the Duke’s birthday. Mr Taylor said he was opposed to ‘trial by social media’ and that he believed a person should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
