Prince Andrew ‘forced out of Palace’

The problems for the Duke of York over his relationship with disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein continued to mount last night after he was thrown out of the one organisation he had tried to cling on to.

A day after The Daily Telegraph disclosed the Duke was attempting to remain at the helm of Pitch@Palace, a company run from Buckingham Palace that allows him to take a cut of tech investment deals, he was forced into an about-turn. A source said the company was being rebranded and dropping “@Palace” from its title, while a clause giving the Duke 2 per cent of investment deals it helped to put together was removed.

The source added that the Duke was being told to stay away from the organisation that he founded in 2014 and over which he has “significant control”.

In a further humiliation, the Duke has also been ordered to move his private office out of Buckingham Palace. It comes as friends of the Duchess of Sussex were said to be horrified by the manner in which the Duke of York dismissed allegations that he had sex with a teenager. The Duke denied Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s claims that they had a number of sexual encounters, telling the BBC that he would have recalled it if they had, because sex for a man was a “positive act”.

The Duke’s explanation is understood to have left friends of the Duchess, who has championed the cause of female victims of violence, feeling uncomfortable.

In further developments, William Barr, the US attorney general, yesterday hinted that charges were close to being brought against co-conspirators who helped procure under age girls for Epstein.

Mr Barr said: “They are definitely pushing things along. “I’ll just say there is good progress being made, and I’m Features: Page 23 hopeful that in a relatively short time there will be tangible results.”

The Duke is understood to be braced for a request to give evidence to the FBI over what he knew about Epstein’s sex ring. He has denied all knowledge.

The latest charity to ditch the Duke is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Its

Prince Andrew forced out of Palace

The problems for the Duke of York over his relationship with disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein continued to mount last night after he was thrown out of the one organisation he had tried to cling on to. A day after The Daily Telegraph disclosed the Duke was attempting to remain at the helm of Pitch@Palace, a company run from Buckingham Palace that allows him to take a cut of tech investment deals, he was forced into an about-turn. A source said the company was being rebranded and dropping @Palace from its title, while a clause giving the Duke 2 per cent of investment deals it helped to put together was removed. The source added that the Duke was being told to stay away from the organisation that he founded in 2014 and over which he has significant control. In a further humiliation, the Duke has also been ordered to move his private office out of Buckingham Palace. It comes as friends of the Duchess of Sussex were said to be horrified by the manner in which the Duke of York dismissed allegations that he had sex with a teenager. The Duke denied Virginia Roberts Giuffres claims that they had a number of sexual encounters, telling the BBC that he would have recalled it if they had, because sex for a man was a positive act. The Dukes explanation is understood to have left friends of the Duchess, who has championed the cause of female victims of violence, feeling uncomfortable. In further developments, William Barr, the US attorney general, yesterday hinted that charges were close to being brought against co-conspirators who helped procure under age girls for Epstein. Mr Barr said: They are definitely pushing things along. Ill just say there is good progress being made, and Im Features: Page 23 hopeful that in a relatively short time there will be tangible results. The Duke is understood to be braced for a request to give evidence to the FBI over what he knew about Epsteins sex ring. He has denied all knowledge. The latest charity to ditch the Duke is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Its