HRH the Duke of York plans to abseil down the tallest building in Western Europe, in a bid to raise £1m for the Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines Charitable Fund.

Instead of 10,000 men, Prince Andrew will be joined by 39 other participants, including Ffion Hague (writer, business consultant, broadcaster and wife of the foreign secretary, William Hague) on 3 September, to abseil down the Shard at London Bridge.

They will be trained by the Outward Bound Trust and supported by Royal Marine Commandos.

Participants have set up online sponsorship pages and money raised will be split between the two organisations. The Duke of York’s page has so far raised £223,085 from 82 donors.

The Duke of York, who is a patron and chair of trustees for the Outward Bound Trust and served in the Royal Navy for 22 years, has co-ordinated the partnership between the two charities with the permission of the owners of the building, LBQ Ltd and developer Sellar Property Group.  

The Outward Bound Trust has pledged that at least £100,000 will be used specifically to support young people in Southwark, the London borough where the Shard is located. A further £250,000 will be put towards a major redevelopment of the founding centre in Averdovey, North Wales. The rest of its share will be allocated to bursaries for young people to attend one of its courses.

More information about the fundraising attempt, those taking part and how to donate is available on the website www.desentoftheshard.com.