Prince Andrew has described himself as the “entrepreneur-in-residence at Buckingham Palace” as he attempts to carve out a new role within the royal family.
The prince described himself as an “ideas factory” and said he is helping young entrepreneurs and technology businesses.
“Prince Albert was the entrepreneur-in-residence at Buckingham Palace. He was doing it in the Industrial Revolution. I am doing it in the digital revolution.”
He said he is also helping to modernise the royal family, highlighting how he had overturned a ban on mobile phones at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace and will upgrade their wifi.
He added: ‘We’re all cogs in a huge big bloody machine, yeah? Some of us have the advantage of being able to activate more cogs than other people. That is it.’
Andrew established Pitch@Palace following his decision to step down as the UK’s special trade representative in 2011.
His twice-yearly event, which links British technology firms with investors, has helped raise funds for hundreds of start-ups since 2014 and seen several notable successes.
#pitchatpalace Entrepreneur of the Week is 2.0 Alumnus @ReachRobotics – its MekaMon Robot is now available to purchase from @Apple stores! Available in the UK, EU and USA – visit https://t.co/YtIyiEANH5 for more information. pic.twitter.com/QP5bomnAlq
— Pitch@Palace (@pitchatpalace) December 1, 2017
He has taken the scheme overseas, most recently to China, where he held a ‘boot camp’ for aspiring businesses in the Communist state.
The Pitch@Palace programme was set up to give entrepreneurs ‘the opportunity to meet the people who can help make their business dreams become a reality.’
