Images of Prince Andrew removed from website of company he founded
Pitch@Palace lost dozens of supporters as controversy grew over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Monday 10 February 2020 17:10, UK
References and pictures of Prince Andrew have been removed from the website of Pitch@Palace - the company he founded.
Pitch@Palace has acknowledged "it is taking the first part of 2020 to refresh the brand".
The company lost dozens of supporters as controversy grew over Prince Andrew's friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein - with the Duke of York stepping down from royal duties after a disastrous interview on BBC Newsnight.
Pitch@Palace, which aims to support British entrepreneurs, was recently moved from its Buckingham Palace headquarters as it seeks to rebuild.
Aside from one photograph in the media section and a foreword to the company's 2019 corporate update, all references to Prince Andrew now seem to have been erased.
The UK arm of the organisation will reportedly be wound up - and the company, led by Prince Andrew's former private secretary Amanda Thirsk, will focus on its global work instead.
Since the Duke of York's ill-fated TV interview in November, firms such as Standard Chartered, Inmarsat and KPMG have pulled their support from Pitch@Palace - and five directors have quit the company.
Pitch@Palace have not responded to a request for comment from Sky News.
Last week, lawyers for victims of Jeffrey Epstein requested that Prince Andrew hands himself over to the FBI to face questions over his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
This would be in return for Anne Sacoolas, who is alleged to have killed British teenager Harry Dunn in a crash outside an RAF base in Northamptonshire last August.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre has claimed she was trafficked by Epstein and had sex with Andrew in 2001 when she was 17 years old - still a minor under US law - allegations that the Duke of York has strenuously denied.