EXCLUSIVE: After a decade of being the only boozer in the world displaying the likeness of a living Royal, the Duke of York in central London is removing all signs of the troublesome Prince
The new landlord of London’s Duke of York pub cracked a hilarious Prince Andrew joke as they told the Daily Star of their plans to remove all traces of the shamed royal. A painting of the late Queen’s son hung from the side of the Fitzrovia pub since 2014 when then-landlady Debi Sickelmore was given permission to use the Prince’s likeness.
The boozer was recently taken over by McMullen and Sons brewery, who have plans for a refurbishment. Pub group director Heydon Mizon was happy to let Ms Sickelmore take the portrait of the troublesome Prince as a retirement present.
There is still a larger poster of the painting on the corner of the pub, just above the door. But not for much longer, as Heydon joked to the Daily Star: “Would you like to buy a 7-foot pub sign that does not sweat?”, in reference to the Duke’s infamous Newsnight interview.
But before the offers start flooding in, the pub boss hastened to add that the “sign isn’t actually for sale” and his comment was “firmly tongue in cheek”. Heydon added that they want to “use parts of the signage in the future” as they plan to refurbish the boozer.
He said: “We have a banner to put up to let people know that refurbishment works are underway, the corner of the building looks like a good place to hang it to me. All signage will be changed as part of the refurbishment, including the corner pictorial.
“There have been many Duke of Yorks over the years. It would be fair to say that we will choose a different signage scheme for the pub in future.”
The pub also gave the Daily Star a sneak peek the the poster they plan to cover up the Prince Andrew poster with, saying it will be “hung outside, over the image of Andrew. The current corner signage will be changed or replaced during the development, timing not known.”
The pub, which has an interesting history, was thought to be the only boozer in the world featuring the likeness of a living royal. In the 1940s, the pub was a hangout for the Fitzrovia literary crowd, including Anthony Burgess who wrote A Clockwork Orange.
The landlord at the time, Major Alf Klein, initiated men into regulars by snipping off their ties. His collection eventually grew to more than 1,500 tie-ends.
Famous regulars through the years included David ‘Del Boy’ Jason, Ian Drury, Mellow Yellow singer Donovan, Rod Stewart, Paul Jones, Johnnie Ray, and John Lee Hooker. It comes as Angela Rayner reportedly called Prince Andrew “that nonce” and tried to block him from ever filling in for the King.
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