Prince Andrew Planning to Visit College

There have been reports that Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, will be visiting Imperial’s White City campus on the 14th of October. The visit is in tandem with the ‘Pitch@Palace' entrepreneurship scheme that the Duke began in 2014, the penultimate ‘Boot Camp’ stage of which is being hosted on the Imperial campus.

The decision of the College to host the Duke is considered controversial by some due to the ongoing investigation into his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was arrested in the US earlier this year on charges of sex trafficking underage women, and had previously received jail time of soliciting minors for prostitution – though he avoided full scrutiny then with a secret plea deal. Over the years, dozens of women came forward to press charges. Epstein later died in his jail cell, apparently of suicide.

The Duke first met Epstein in 1999, but maintained contact with him for many years afterwards – including after Epstein was released from his first round of prison – which the Duke later described as “a mistake and an error”. The Duke is known to have stayed at several of Epstein’s properties, and was photographed with Epstein in 2010 after he was released – as well as reportedly appearing numerous times on the logs of Epstein’s private jet.

Subsequently, the Duke himself was directly accused of abusing a minor, when Virginia Guiffre stepped forward and claimed that she was forced into having sex with the Duke three times when she was 17 after allegedly being recruited by Epstein as a child sex slave. The Duke was photographed with Virginia, reportedly in 2001, in a now-infamous photo.

Given the allegations, visits from the Duke to other universities during the Pitch@Palace tour have received public criticism. Notably, his visit to the University of South Wales was described as “alarming” by the head of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood, who subsequently even sought to pressure Welsh universities via government into committing not to host “guests in this unsavoury situation”.

Regarding the event at Imperial, the concern is primarily that the College is prioritising entrepreneurial ties and the benefit of startup organisations over the welfare of youngwomen. Many incoming students, having just joined the College, are only 17 – the same age as Virginia Guiffre when she was allegedly abused by the Duke. In other words, it “sends a very negative message to young women at the College”, as one anonymous commentator said.

The College’s statement does little to assuage the fears of those who are concerned. In response to a request for statement, a College spokesperson speaking to Felix said: “Inspiring and supporting entrepreneurship is a priority for Imperial and we promote a range of opportunities to help our students and others to pursue their enterprising ideas. This is the driving force behind our decision to host Pitch@Palace Bootcamp 12.0.” There was no mention of any consideration for students who may feel marginalised by the College’s decision, despite a specific request for clarification on that issue – only an acknowledgement that it would be “inappropriate” for the College to comment, and that any external event at the College needs to adhere to a “code of conduct to ensure a safe and inclusive environment.”

Shree Thirumalaikumar, the Chair of the Feminist Society at Imperial, appears to disagree. She thinks that this decision promotes the opposite of an inclusive environment:

“It feels wrong for Imperial to host Prince Andrew in the face of these unresolved allegations.

In a culture which tends not to believe in women, it is hard not to view College’s decision to run the event as a disregard of these accusations entirely - especially for an institution that is both of such size and stature, and that is home to a large group of young people.”

The rest of the College statement addresses the fact that Imperial startups that have gone on to win the event and gain “further investment” – and of how the College’s competence in hosting the event previously led them to be offered the chance to host it again. This agreement was in fact made in May – which was after the allegations against the Duke had already emerged.

It is important to note that there is no formal relationship between the College and Pitch@Palace. Agreements to host events are made on a one-off basis, and the College receives no remuneration as a result. Despite that, the sense that there are intangible benefits is clear from the spokesperson: “hosting the event exposes a powerful network of business leaders, investors and influencers to the College’s entrepreneurs and innovation community.”

The Royal Household’s press office responded with a refusal to comment when contacted.

The Duke of York has also not officially declared that he will be attending, though it is assumed based on his attendance at the other Pitch@Palace events on this round. His official Royal Engagements page remains completely empty over the next month. This is also the reason given by the College for the lack of any publicity about the royal visit: “we would not ordinarily promote notable visits ahead of time. Announcements about Royal visits are a matter for the Royal Household.”

Felix will be gauging student reactions to the news of the Duke’s visit over the coming week.