Prince Andrew is is facing calls for an investigation over his new shocking plans to hold Royal Lodge.
In 2014, the Duke of York launched a program, Pitch@Palace, which was initially a not-for-profit initiative aimed at pairing investors with start-up businesses.
Later on, he rolled out a commercial version of the project, with him holding a significant stake.
However, the Duke was forced to step away from the project following his disastrous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview and since then, he has not received any public money from it.
Now, as per Daily Mail, the disgraced Duke of York is reportedly planning to sell invaluable contacts from his Pitch@Palace program to a private firm for millions, which has raised serious concerns.
If the deal does happen it could generate millions for Andrew and help him hold on to Royal Lodge, the Grade II listed royal property in Windsor Great Park where he lives with his ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York.
Norman Baker, a former Lib Dem minister, has written to Information Commissioner John Edwards, urging him to intervene and prevent the sale.
“In my view, those who supplied data to Pitch@Palace did so in the belief that this was a state-endorsed charity operation, run from Buckingham Palace,” Mr Baker said in the letter, seen by the Mail.
He further added, “They would have had an expectation that their data would be used accordingly and would not, I suggest, be happy to see their data now passed to a private company as a means of enriching Prince Andrew personally. I contend that the data is not transferable without permission having been sought from and given by each person or company on whom Pitch@Palace held data.”
The controversy surrounding Prince Andrew's plan comes as he faces financial issues, including the loss of his estimated £1 million annual funding from the King and the potential eviction from Royal Lodge.
