Prince Andrew says he "cheap at the price"
LONDON, Apr 29 (Reuters) Britain's Prince Andrew, mocked by tabloids for his jet-setting lifestyle, says he is ''cheap at the price'' as a roving ambassador for British business whose trade missions cost 500,000 pounds a year.
''There's no substitute for getting to know these people face to face,'' Queen Elizabeth's second son told The Independent today.
Andrew, an ardent golf fan who has been dubbed ''Air Miles Andy'' and ''The Prince of Freebies'' by tabloids, said of the criticism: ''You have to have a skin which the water drips off.'' Travelling around the world from Brazil and China to Russia, Andrew is a special representative for UK Trade and Investment, a government body promoting British business abroad and seeking to attract foreign investment.
Asked
if
he
was
worth
the
500,000
pound
bill
footed
by
taxpayers,
Andrew
said:
''In
terms
of
the
return
on
investment
to
the
UK,
bearing
in
mind
I
am
part
of
a
number
of
people,
I
would
suggest
that
500,000
pounds
is
cheap
at
the
price.''
REUTERS
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PM1517