Organiser of the Patron’s Lunch, Peter Phillips, has stepped down from his position as a trustee for the event, over a conflict of interest as The Queen’s grandson, it has been revealed.
Peter, 38, was organising the 10,000 person street party to celebrate The Queen’s 90th birthday through his company, Sports and Entertainment Ltd (SEL); he then took a place as trustee of the Patron’s Fund, the charity overseeing any surplus from ticket sales, which will support specific initiatives and projects run by the 600+ organisations The Queen patronises.
It was in November that Peter actually stepped down from this role, to keep in line with the rules on conflict of interest from Charity Commission. Princess Anne’s son is still currently an interim trustee, until a suitable replacement can be found for the role.
Details of the street party were only announced last month, as Peter appeared on Good Morning Britain, as director of SEL, the organising body; he also spoke of a Royal childhood, playing in palaces with his cousins. He said they ’caused mayhem’.
DETAILS OF QUEEN’S 90TH BIRTHDAY & PATRON’S LUNCH ANNOUNCED
A spokeswoman for The Patron’s Lunch said: “As with any event of this nature, a management fee is standard practice.
“To reiterate, SEL is not taking any share of the profits, which will go direct to The Patron’s Fund, simply a fixed rate management fee.”
She added: “There would be no Patron’s Lunch or Fund had he [Peter] not come up with the idea and taken it to get approved by the Palace in the way he did.”
“It was however, always Mr Phillips’s intention to step down as a trustee once the Patron’s Fund was fully operational to ensure that there was no perceived conflict of interest and to ensure the integrity of the event and the charity were maintained.”
