Prince Andrew’s charity patronages: analysis of the effects on the charities

Many UK charities have Royal patrons and probably many more would like to have them, thinking that a Royal patron would help to secure profile, donations, and other useful resources. Our analysis suggests that this thinking is misplaced. This study exploits the unique quasi-experimental context created when Prince Andrew withdrew from public duties in late 2019, simultaneously ending approximately 60 charity patronages. Using this natural discontinuity, we employ difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the effect of Prince Andrew’s patronage on charities’ revenue performance. Our analysis shows that there is no evidence to suggest that Prince Andrew’s patronage helped charities to raise more money, as they performed no differently after he dropped all patronage duties.