Prince Andrew ''vows to keep his trusted aide as she is fired from publicly funded role''

A royal source claims Prince Andrew’s trusted aide Amanda Thirsk was shown the door after her catastrophic decision to allow the Duke of York to appear on Newsnight. After being forced to step down from public duties and losing his money from the Sovereign Grant, Andrew was told loyal Ms Thirsk would be sacked from her publicly funded role.
However, royal sources confirmed that Andrew “vowed to keep her on his staff” and would use his own millionaire funds to pay her wages.
Ms Thirsk, who is on the board of Andrew’s beloved Pitch@Palace project, was said to be “mortified” at the fall out after the Duke’s car crash interview.
The Duke of York has cancelled a trip to Bahrain as the fallout over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein continues, it has been reported.
The Daily Mail said Ms Thirsk, believed to have been the driving force behind Andrew's catastrophic Newsnight interview, will now run the business mentorship scheme after she was dismissed on Thursday.
Ms Thirsk will also manage the Duke of York Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award after the duke quit his life as a working royal on Wednesday.
It has also been reported Buckingham Palace was disturbed by the mention of Andrew's relationship with Epstein in the ITV election debate on Tuesday.
The Times said senior aides and the Prince of Wales advised the Queen that Andrew should be withdrawn from public life after concerns the scandal was overshadowing the democratic process.
Despite stepping back from public life, Andrew will be continuing with Pitch@Palace "outside and entirely separate from the palace," a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said.
It is thought he will not have any involvement with the dozens of other charities, organisations and military units with which he has been associated.