Fred Goodwin Resigns As Trustee Of Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust

Disgraced banker Fred Goodwin has resigned as a trustee of a prestigious charity which has close links with the Queen.

Goodwin left the Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust before he was stripped of his knighthood last week.

His title was "cancelled and annulled" by the monarch after a key committee found he had brought the honours system into "disrepute".

The ex-chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was appointed a trustee by the Prince of Wales and there is speculation he resigned to save the royal family embarrassment.

He took up his post with the Trust in 2004 and helped guide the organisation which funds the activities of charities that encourage young people to do good deeds within their communities in the UK and across the Commonwealth.

The body was established in 1977 - the monarch's Silver Jubilee year - after a major fundraising appeal led by Charles.

The Queen herself set the aims of the Trust to focus on raising money to support young people.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse and the man in charge of the monarch's finances, is the Trust's chairman while Sir Christopher Geidt, the sovereign's private secretary, is a trustee.

In 2009 Goodwin stepped down as chairman of the Prince's Trust charity after holding the role for six years. The move came soon after it was announced he was quitting as RBS chief executive after a huge financial bail-out by the Government.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed the development in a short statement. He said: "Fred Goodwin has resigned from the Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust."

He confirmed that his decision to step down came before his knighthood was rescinded.