7th November, 2009
Article in The National newspaper, Abu Dhabi.
No longer the “playboy prince” beloved of the tabloids, Prince Andrew now travels the world supporting British business. On a recent visit to the UAE, he talked about his work, his life and the special connection he has with the region to Helena Frith Powell.
Prince Andrew means business. He is in the region on a five-nation tour that includes Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and a fifth destination his security staff would prefer we did not mention.
The British press would have us believe that the Prince, or “the Playboy Prince” as they refer to him, will be spending his time doing nothing but improving his already impressive golf handicap. A brief look at his itinerary tells a different story.
The day he is in Dubai, for example, starts at 10am with a visit to the British Council and ends at 7.30pm when he says a few words about the Olympics Countdown Clock. In between, he has no fewer than seven meetings. Between 12.50 and 1pm there is an “opportunity to retire” – in other words, 10 minutes off. Less than any normal working person. And unlike any normal working person, the prince doesn’t get paid for doing all this. So why does he do it?
“I was delighted with my time in the navy, but my motivation to take this on was very simple,” he says in an exclusive interview with M magazine at the Emirates Palace hotel. “If you take two identical people and one is a member of the royal family and the other is not, they can both conduct the same role in the navy just as effectively as each other. On the other hand, the person who is not a member of the royal family could not do what I do on behalf of British business as effectively.”
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was born Andrew Albert Christian Edward on February 19, 1960. He is the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and fourth in line to the throne. He is a well-built man with good poise, which I suppose is only natural for someone who probably had the Queen of England telling him to stand up straight when he was growing up.
The role he is referring to is one of Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, which he took on in 2001. He was asked by the British government to leave the navy to take on the new role after 22 years in service, including active service during the Falklands War.
The aim of the role is threefold: to promote the UK as an investment destination; to create more favourable business conditions for UK companies abroad; and to help UK companies export their products. Feedback from the companies he supports is positive. Sir John Rose, for example, the chief executive officer of the Rolls-Royce Group, says he values his involvement. “The duke has a real grasp of the importance and potential of engineering, helped enormously by the fact that he knows Rolls-Royce first-hand from his service in the Royal Navy as a pilot who flew Rolls-Royce-powered helicopters.”
The cost to UK taxpayers last year for the prince’s 600 or so engagements on behalf of British trade was about £600,000 (Dh3.6 million) in flights and other expenses. Will they get that back? One well-documented deal was the £2.5 billion (Dh15 billion) AirAsia contract for Airbus and Rolls-Royce engines. Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia, said the prince’s involvement convinced him to buy British.
Article continues here
