The Grand Old Duke of York

[4] As a result, the argument has been made that it may have been a common satirical verse that was adapted as appropriate and, because it was recorded in roughly the modern form, has become fixed on the Duke of York.

A Dutch adaptation of the song replaces the Duke of York with Maurice, Prince of Orange (1567–1625), whose practice of training mercenaries (completely new and mocked at first) became famous after his success in war.

[8] De held prins Maurits kwam met honderdduizend man daar ging hij mee de heuvel op en ook weer naar benee en was 'ie bovenan dan was 'ie niet benee en was 'ie halverwege was 'ie boven noch benee The hero Prince Maurice came with a hundred thousand men with them he went up the hill and also down again and when he was up then he wasn't down and when he was half-way he was neither up nor down In February 2022, parodies of the nursery rhyme referencing Prince Andrew, Duke of York's reported £12 million out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre had entered circulation.

[9] A version reported in the media contained the lyrics:[9] The grand old Duke of York, he had twelve million quid.

Later in May, the black comedy musician Kunt and the Gang released the satirical single "Prince Andrew Is a Sweaty Nonce" about the controversy surrounding his 2019 interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight.