Charities and the royals: a mixed history

The Duke of Sussex has resigned from a charity he set up in honour of his late mother, after a row between the trustees and the chair of its board.

Prince Harry co-founded Sentebale in 2006, to help people in southern Africa living with HIV and Aids. He has stepped down after the charity's chair took legal action over being asked to resign, and relationships between her and the trustees "broke down beyond repair".

His "devastating" exit is the latest chapter in a mixed history of ties between the royals and the charity sector.

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What's the history with royals and charities?

The first recorded patronage of a charity by a member of the royal family was George II's involvement with the Society of Antiquaries in the 18th century – a tie that continues to this day, with the Duke of Gloucester as the current royal patron. Patronages are often handed down within the royal family: every monarch has been patron of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, for example, since King George IV took on the role in 1824.

Currently, over 1,000 organisations have a royal patron or president. The engagements and events they attend "draw in other well-connected donors and celebrities", Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, told the BBC. There's "no doubt" that royals "drive millions and millions of pounds" to the charity sector every year.

A royal connection is also an "endorsement" that a charity's work is "reputable and high quality", Cathy Pharoah, professor of charity funding at Sir John Cass Business School, City University, London, told the broadcaster.

The royal family say their charitable ties allow them to meet people "from a wide spectrum of national and local life", and "to learn more about the challenges they face". Their patronages "often reflect the interests" of the royal involved, and some royals, like Prince Harry, have launched their own charities. Among these, the best known are probably The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and The King's Trust (originally The Prince's Trust), which helps disadvantaged young people and has, it claims, created "£1.4 billion in value to society" over the last 10 years alone.

What happens to the charities when royals go rogue?

When royals face lurid allegations in the media, this can make life uncomfortable for the charities they're tied to. When the Duchess of York was "all over the tabloids" in the early 1990s, the Motor Neurone Disease Association "considered breaking with her", Stephen Cook, editor of Third Sector magazine, told the BBC.

And when Prince Andrew faced a civil action in the US over sexual assault allegations, which he has denied, he was stripped of all his charity patronages. He'd once held around 200 of them, including with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the English National Ballet and the RNID.

Have there been any other issues?

Last year, King Charles and Prince William were accused of taking millions of pounds in rent, through their private estates, from a number of organisations, including cash-strapped charities.

A joint investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4's "Dispatches", found, for example, that William's Duchy of Cornwall owns Camelford House, a 1960s tower block on the banks of the Thames, known as "Charity Towers" because so many charities rent offices there. Under a sub-letting agreement, the Duchy has received £22 million since 2005 in rents paid by the building's tenants.

A spokesperson said the Duchy of Cornwall is "a private estate with a commercial imperative" but The Observer wondered how long we will "stomach sermons from royals made rich by their own charities".