Anthony John James Bailey (born 13 January 1970) is a British-born Irish public relations consultant.
Bailey was active in UK political circles in the early 2000s and has also had roles with various charities and Catholic organisations. He has received and been stripped of various honours, including an Order of the British Empire (OBE) awarded in the 2008 Birthday Honours, which was revoked in 2023 after a London High Court judge sentenced him to prison for contempt of court in a 2022 divorce settlement hearing.
Personal life and background The son of an Irish mother, Veronica, and an English father, Colin, Bailey was born in London on 13 January 1970 and brought up in Ruislip, attending The Douay Martyrs School, then University College London. His father was an engineer and instructor at FÁS, an Irish state body responsible for training the unemployed. Before entering public relations, Bailey sold men's suits and worked in a pizza restaurant.
Public relations Bailey was a senior account director for communications firm Burson-Marsteller, which he joined in 1993,Jamie Doward, "PR guru behind Brown cash drive", The Observer 27 May 2007, accessed 14 June 2016 chairman of his own company Eligo International (incorporated in 1998), then chairman of Anthony Bailey Ltd, a public relations company incorporated in 2014. Eligo International was dissolved in January 2016 with their final accounts showing funds of -£85,000. Anthony Bailey Ltd did not trade until 2016, and in accounts posted that year showed liabilities of more than £40,000. Anthony Bailey Ltd was dissolved by order of Companies House in October 2020. Its most recent accounts from 2018 showed it had built up losses of more than £220,000.
In 2006, Bailey assisted with the first British royal marriage to take place at the Vatican since the Reformation. Described as the couple's friend, spokesman and wedding planner, he supported the Catholic wedding of Lord Nicholas Windsor, son of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, to British-born Croatian aristocrat Princess Paola Doimi de Lupis Frankopan Šubić Zrinski. The couple had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Apostolic Palace before a small ceremony.
In 2007 The Observer referred to Bailey as a "PR guru who is one of the most influential men you have never heard of" and "a key player in the world of Catholic and Middle East politics." Bailey's descriptions of his own occupation have included "Public Relations Consultant" (2010), "Royal And Diplomatic Consultant" (2011), and "Head R. Order of Knighthood" (2004).Companies House. Anthony John James BAILEY. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/ATTybqoFMvUd7C5WNn4RExkde6E/appointments accessed 9 4 2017
Politics Bailey was co-president of the think-tank British Influence and a supporter of Britain's membership of both the European Union and the Commonwealth."British Influence" website , accessed 20 June 2016 He was a supporter of the Conservative Party until 1999 from which time he aligned himself with the Labour Party. He made a substantial donation to the failed leadership campaign of David Miliband in 2010.
In 2005, it emerged that a £500,000 donation Bailey had made to the Labour Party had been rejected by its chief fundraiser, Lord Levy, who allegedly feared the money had come from foreign businessmen. Bailey insisted the money was his own and issued legal proceedings. He later said: "The Labour party has apologised unreservedly for any distress that the affair caused". A subsequent donation of £50,000 was accepted.
New version of a royal order of knighthood In the 1990s, Bailey "revived" the so-called "Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George", under the authority of Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro, who is the "Franco-Neapolitan branch" claimant to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. (The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies has controlled no territory since the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was suppressed in 1860. Since 1960 the headship of the House has been disputed.) In 2009 Bailey was appointed "magistral delegate" of the Delegation, and the organisation has awarded him other honours. Bailey has never been an officer or member of the long-established version of the Order, which is under the authority of Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, the "Hispano-Neapolitan branch" claimant to the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The longstanding version of the Order has no connection with Bailey, nor with his business activities, nor with the order of which he is described as "delegate".Guy Stair Sainty, vice-grand chancellor of the Order . As reported in http://antiguaobserver.com/catholic-order-disowns-honours-awards-to-caribbean-leaders/ Antigua Observer. 24 August 2016. "The Order purportedly revived in the UK by Bailey is described on its website as the "Delegation for Great Britain and Ireland"; however, in a follow-up email, Guy Stair Sainty, vice-grand chancellor of the Order, said it has no connection with Bailey, his business activities or the order of which he is described as "delegate". Sainty explained that the Constantinian Order concentrates primarily on its Catholic mission and never "exchanges" its membership with anyone for any reason since this would be contrary to the statutes and character of the Order as a Catholic, chivalric, confraternal institution.
"Neither are we interested in expensive entertainments nor in constant publicity, which is why we have not issued any public statement until now, when the good name of our Order has repeatedly been the subject of so much critical commentary", he added.
Sainty went on to note that the grant of awards for “'interfaith' services or whatever" to the likes of President Assad of Syria and former President Saleh of Yemen and various state officials in other countries, including the Caribbean, has no worth.
"The self-evident conflict of interest between Mr Bailey’s role as a businessman apparently acting on behalf of states for fees, yet exchanging decorations of this controversial Constantinian Order … and then claiming awards in return would appear to be entirely contrary to the spirit of this ancient Catholic institution", he said."
In December 2020, Bailey resigned from all the roles he held in his branch of the Constantinian Order, citing its impact on his "physical and mental health", though his personal website still lists him as a "campaigner" for the order. There has been no announcement of a successor, although the order's website continues to be maintained.
Charity activities Bailey was appointed in 1999 as executive chairman of the Saudi organization "Painting & Patronage"."Painting and Patronage" website, accessed 20 June 2016 (The UK company "Painting and Patronage" was dissolved in 2014.) From December 2005 to November 2013, Bailey was a director of the United Learning Trust. He was, from December 2009 to July 2016, a director of St Mary's University.
In 2016, Bailey was appointed President of the Executive Council of the Portuguese Centenary Appeal.Centenary Appeal, Archived in May 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024. He is also a Patron of the Faiths Forum for London.Patrons - website of Faiths Forum for London. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
Controversies In 1995 police recorded his telephone conversations with a client, who claimed to be a Libyan prince. Bailey was accused of blackmailing the client, but the case was dismissed before it got to court. Bailey complained to the Press Complaints Commission about the way this was reported in the Daily Mail in 2010; in resolution, the PCC negotiated a statement from the Mail that it had omitted some details in reporting these circumstances, and that it apologised for any distress caused.Press Complaints Commission website, accessed 20 June 2016. Archived from original on 21 December 2016.
Bailey claimed to be Ambassador-at-Large for The Gambia between 2004 and 2007, though the Gambian High Commission in London said at the time that they don't know much about him and "He has no office here".
According to the Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, Bailey asked to be made the country's ambassador to the Holy See, which Mitchell rejected.
Honours granted and removed In the 2008 Birthday Honours, Bailey was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for his services to inter-religious relations and charity." This was revoked in August 2023 following Bailey's failure to obey court orders.
In 2014, Bailey was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation, by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda. In May 2016, the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday reported that Bailey was accused of incorrectly using an Antiguan knighthood as if it were a British title. (Since 1813, Buckingham Palace and the Foreign Office have not allowed the use of titles from foreign knighthoods in the United Kingdom by British citizens.London Gazette, 1 June 2016, accessed 9 June 2016"Something of the Knight...", Private Eye, no, 1420, 10 June 2016)
Bailey also stated that he had Antiguan citizenship based on his Antiguan passport, issued when he was appointed as their special economic envoy to the European Union in 2015.Sir Anthony Bailey defends his Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship – The Antigua Observer, 1 June 2016 The Antiguan government did confirm that Bailey's passport inaccurately stated that he is a national of Antigua and Barbuda. However, Bailey was never granted Antiguan citizenship, whether by investment or otherwise.
The British firm that printed the nation's passports apparently assumed that anyone, to be issued an Antigua and Barbuda passport, would be a national of that country -- and they were not informed that this did not apply to Bailey. Bailey's knighthood and his appointment as an economic envoy then became subject to review by the Antiguan Governor General. On 21 July 2017, his Antiguan knighthood was annulled. He remarked: "It is unfortunate that this important goodwill and interfaith engagement has been damaged by a farcical and Machiavellian side show akin to an Ealing comedy. The strong political overtones to this dirty campaign which are well documented and the internal chivalric war led by some highly questionable and unchristian individuals is regrettable."
Bailey was granted a Grenadian knighthood in 2015. The government of Grenada reviewed this grant and took legal advice; the knighthood was rescinded in August 2016. In December 2016 Private Eye reported that Bailey's lawyers were issuing legal warning letters to any Caribbean local newspapers which had reported on the knighthood controversies.
Divorce and prison sentence In 2007, Bailey married Marie-Therese von Hohenberg, the great-granddaughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Their wedding in Salzburg followed an engagement party held at St John's in London's Smith Square attended by royalty and around 40 ambassadors. They had a son, Maximilian, in 2010, and lived in Twickenham, south-west London. They separated in 2016, Hohenberg instigated divorce proceedings, and Bailey was subsequently accused of failing to make court-ordered payments of £2 million to his ex-wife.
On 1 February 2022, the High Court in London gave Bailey a 12-month prison sentence for contempt of court,Bailey v Bailey (Committal) (Rev1), England and Wales Family Court (High Court Judges, Feb 4, 2022. Casemine. Retrieved 24 August 2023. following his persistent refusal to comply with a court-ordered £1 million divorce settlement to his aristocrat ex-wife. The order came after she filed legal action in response to Bailey's repeated breaches, including halting the sale of their £4 million six-bedroom villa near Lisbon, Portugal—effectively blocking her right to a half-share of the asset.