Prince Andrew certainly knows how to make a loud entrance into 2025. Following a scandalous end to 2024 when he was named “a close confidant” to an alleged Chinese spy in the U.K, the Duke of York is back in the spotlight again for the wrong reasons. This time it involves a complaint filed to London’s Metropolitan Police over his use of an alleged fake name in his business filings with Companies House.
Anti-monarchy group Republic reported the Duke of York to police on Monday, Jan. 6, over reports made by the Daily Telegraph and BBC that he used the name “HRH Andrew Inverness” in official business documents. He used the name, believed to be in reference to his Scottish title Duke of Inverness, when he founded Naples Gold company in November 2002.
Likewise, “HRH Andrew Inverness” was listed as having significant control over the investments at the managing firm Urramoor Limited, which Andrew reportedly set up in 2013 after he was stripped of his U.K. trade envoy role over his friendship with the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Unfortunately, the firm recently applied to be shut down due to lack of financial support after its mysterious donor bailed out. The company reportedly has ties to businessman Yang Tengbo, the alleged Chinese spy associate of the Duke, who has since been banned entry into the U.K.
While there’s been no definitive confirmation that “HRH Andrew Inverness” belongs to the disgraced Royal, the birth listed on the filing is February 1960. Andrew was born on Feb. 19, 1960. Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, called for an investigation into the complaint because “it is an offense to use false information when registering with Companies House.” He asserted that the Duke “should be held to a higher standard” especially “since he is a public figure” and “part of the institution of the monarchy.”
“There seems to be a culture of impunity around the royals in terms of whether or not they are within the law or within acceptable terms of behavior. So if we think they’ve broken the law its really up to us to forge in and challenge the police to do something about it,” he told Newsweek Chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston.
He added: “We constantly turn a blind eye to breaking the law. There’s no way in which his name is Andrew Inverness. There must be a reason why he did that and the police ought to be asking questions about it.”
The filing is a stark contrast to how Prince Harry list his name as Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke Of Sussex in records for his Travalyst ecotourism company. Likewise, Prince William and Kate Middleton use The Duke Of Cambridge William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor and the Duchess Of Cambridge Catherine Elizabeth Cambridge, respectively.
However, Republic would have to wait if their complaint even gets investigated, as MET Police still have to look into the laws surrounding Companies House registrations. A spokesperson said it still has to be “assessed to determine whether any further action is required. There is no investigation at this early stage.”
New Year, fresh problems for the Royal Family. Seems there’s just no end to Andrew’s woes further tarnishing not just his image but the reputation of the monarchy as a whole. With his patience already wearing thin, just how much more scandal from his younger brother can King Charles III handle?
Published: Jan 8, 2025 01:06 pm