Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor closing down his final business interests

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is closing down some of his last remaining known business interests, including Pitch@Palace Global Ltd.

Pitch@Palace was a start-up project where aspiring entrepreneurs could present their ideas to potential investors - and was once seen as a possible income source for Andrew after the King stopped supporting him financially.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says it's a final nail in the coffin of the disgraced former prince.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks. It'd be
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Devin Gray, UK correspondence with US, Hello, Gevin II. So,
Donald Trump has said he has an obligation to sue
the bebe Yes.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
First time he's spoken since the whole row erupted about
his thoughts and the BBC documentary in which a speech
was edited together in such a way as to make
it look like he was trying to incite his supporters
into violence at the Capitol. Hell rites back in January
twenty twenty one, two bits of the speech, almost an

(00:47):
hour apart, edited together. He's now spoken on Fox News
and said that it had presented defrauded views of what
he said. His speech had been butchered, he said, and
effectively said he now has this obligation to sue, and
that deadline for the suing of one billion pounds two

(01:08):
to three billion New Zealand dollars. It comes with a deadline,
and it's ten o'clock Friday evening hour time, so it'll
be Saturday mid morning your time for the corporation to respond.
And if the BBC doesn't respond, he says he will
start that litigation. Lots of people though, looking at that
threat of litigation and said, well, hang on. One of

(01:28):
the main plints in a court of lawries was it
readily available to view in America? And the answer to
that would appear to be no. But of course that'll
all be decided potentially in a court of law. And also,
you know, has it actually added any additional damage to
his reputation about that speech? And again the BBC could

(01:49):
be arguing no. That said, my sources are saying they
are inclined to offer some kind of amount of money
for damage to his reputation. But time will tell, and
the clock is taking wow.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Okay, So I thought the response that he was looking
for was just maybe an apology, like a public humiliation.
But he's that will not suffice.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
He's asked for a retraction, an apology, and some money
to compensate him for the damage to his reputation. He
hasn't said how much that is, but the idea of
then that threat for a billion pounds is obviously giving
an indication of how much it thinks it's really damaged
that repetition.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
It sounds like he's going to lodge the lawsuit if
he does in Florida, where the BBC is available, does
he have to prove not only that the BBC is available,
but that the show itself was like widely viewed.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
I think there is basically an idea that if it's
readily available and as you said, the BBC are there.
But it's interesting that he's lodged it with a very
small local firm of solicitors in Florida, as you said,
where the BBC is available. But it's this idea that
it was something that was massively seen in order to

(03:01):
have affected his reputation. And obviously I suppose one of
the arguments will be well, any viewing would be a damage,
but the idea that it was widely seen in America,
it would be debated by the BBC.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, fair enough. Now what's the latest with Andrew? All
the businesses have been wound up?

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yes they are, And this I think is really another
nail in the coffin of his career, as it were,
and Andrew mount Batan Windsor. Incidentally, it's now hyphenated the
mount Batan Windsor Thing. Andrew mount Baten Winsor is closing
down the pitch at Palace Global Limited. Now those who
have followed these things will know that he had sort of.

(03:40):
It was a startup competition where entrepreneurs could present their
ideas straight to potential investors, and this was one seen
as a possible stream of income for the former Prince
when the King stopped fin supporting him financially. However, when
he gave that disastrous interview to the BBC about his

(04:00):
friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, it was
put on ice, and now we know that he's actually
physically closed it. The UK side of the business was
wound up in twenty twenty one. The international part, though,
has remained open, and a Dutch company startup boot Camp,
had said it was actually interested in buying the business,
saying it was an immense value, but that however, unraveled

(04:23):
earlier this year. There is only about twenty one thousand
New Zealand dollars left at the end of March from
the account, significantly down on the previous year about half
a million New Zealand dollars, and so the winding up
looks like a more formal step than anything else, but
it is another huge dent to Prince Andrew or Andrew's
reputation because this was something he really really cared about.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Now, is Kirstama really in trouble?

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Do you think?

Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (04:50):
I think he is. The very fact now that this
is making national news. So in a couple of weeks time,
we get the budget, which is an outline of the
fiscal and financial path that this government is intending to take.
And even though it's a fortnight away and even though
we don't actually know what's in it, there's been massive
The government is going to have to basically renee on

(05:11):
a promise it made at the election, and that promise
was it would not put up taxes for what it
described as working people. So it got around it first
time around by putting extra taxes on employers. Those employers say, right, well,
we're not now going to take on any new staff
and it's costing us a lot to keep these stuff,
and so they're laying people off and the unemployment figures

(05:34):
going up. This government now looks like it's in a
bigger financial hole and therefore will have to put up taxes.
And there are now there's talk admittedly not on camera,
not to in quote marks, but talk from lots of
different politicians about the fact his days are numbered. His
supporters are saying he will fight this to the end.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
Jay's interesting. Can't wait to see this play out. Hey,
thank you very Muchkevin Devin Gray are UK correspondents.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
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