Prince Andrew Still Swings At Fitzrovia's Duke Of York Pub

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By M@ Last edited 51 months ago
Prince Andrew Still Swings At Fitzrovia's Duke Of York Pub

The Duke of York pub in Fitzrovia is holding steadfast to Prince Andrew, despite allegations against the royal.

The pub on Charlotte Place, off Goodge Street, has borne the likeness of the prince since 2014, with royal approval. Both the hanging sign and the corner piece use the Duke's image. The latter is a couple of metres high, and is something of a local landmark.

According to The i, the longtime landlords are ardent royalists, and are unwilling to take the signs down at this point. "We can't see he's been charged with anything," they told the paper. "We don't know the full details but it doesn't seem like he's done anything wrong to us."

Prince Andrew is, of course, wrapped in scandal following revelations about his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and ongoing claims about his own sexual relations with a teenager. While criminal charges have not been brought, the accusations are severe enough that numerous organisations have already cut ties with the Prince.

The Duke of York pub seems to be sticking to the principle of innocent-until-proven-guilty. While it does so, it remains one of only two central London pubs whose hanging sign features a living person. The other is The Lord Moon of the Mall on Whitehall, which carries the fat-handed likeness of Tim Martin, the Wetherspoon founder.

Curiously, the Duke of York pub has had another brush with infamy. According to local lore, the novelist Anthony Burgess (or, in some versions, his wife) was drinking in the pub in 1943 when it was raided by a razor gang. The incident inspired him to write A Clockwork Orange, later adapted for film by Stanley Kubrick.

This article was amended on 4 December to remove reference to Greene King pubs, which no longer owns the Duke of York, having sold it in January 2019.

Last Updated 04 December 2019