Queen Elizabeth II was “very keen” for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to take on the role of UK trade envoy, documents released by the Government reveal.
The documents relate to discussions that took place at the highest levels of government and the Royal Family when Andrew was appointed to the role 25 years ago, a decision that has since attracted criticism because thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money was spent on his expenses and travel costs.
They have revealed that the late Queen wished for her son to have a prominent role supporting the promotion of UK overseas trade correspondence between Sir David Wright, chief executive of British Trade International and the then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook show.
In the letter from Wright, he states: “The Queen’s wish is that the Duke of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York.”
It adds: “The Queen is very keen that the Duke of York should take on a prominent role in the promotion of national interests. No other member of the Royal Family would be available to succeed the Duke of Kent.”
Mountbatten-Windsor, then known as Prince Andrew, was described as a “natural fit” for the role.
However, there was also mention that the former Duke of York’s role would be “perhaps slightly different” from the one the Duke of Kent had fulfilled.
A letter from 2000, the year before Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed to the role shows that the Foreign Secretary at the time agreed “more use could be made of the Duke of York”.
The revelations come from a 31-page release the Government was forced to release following pressure from MPs, with the Liberal Democrats having tabled a humble address in Parliament.
Here’s what else we know.
Golfing was a ‘private activity’
One of the more unusual comments captured in the trade envoy documents is a strict instruction to civil servants that “the Duke of York should not be offered golfing functions abroad. This was a private activity and if he took his clubs with him he would not play in any public sense.”
It is unclear whether the message was sent is in response to a specific golf-related incident, but Mountbatten-Windsor had caught the attention of the international press previously while playing golf.
He was photographed playing alongside then-US president Bill Clinton as well as Sir Evelyn de Rothschild in August 1999. The friendly competition between the influential men is understood to have occurred days before Rothschild’s birthday party in which Mountbatten-Windsor will have rubbed shoulders with reported fellow guests Epstein and Peter Mandelson.
Andrew with President Clinton at Farm Neck Golf Club. (Photo by Bill Greene/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)Both the golf session and party took place in Martha’s Vineyard which is also where a photo was taken of the two British men in bathrobes sat smiling for the camera next to a fully dressed Epstein.
This photo is understood also been taken in 1999, two years before Mountbatten-Windsor’s trade role was confirmed.
There is also insight into Mountbatten-Windsor’s cultural preferences in the trade envoy documents.
Captain Blair, the former prince’s principal private secretary at the time, is said to have told an official that Mountbatten-Windsor was “particularly good on high-tech matters, trade, youth (including primary schools and outward bound projects)”. As for cultural events, he is said to have a “preference for ballet rather than theatre”.
No formal vetting
The newly released files have revealed how the path was smoothed to allow Mountbatten-Windsor to take up the role of UK trade envoy.
They show that the Blair government did not carry out any vetting or due diligence on the then prince before he was appointed to the role.
Ministers today insist that this is “understandable” because “this new appointment was a continuation of the Royal Family’s involvement in trade and investment promotion work” undertaken by the Duke of Kent.
Questions over expenses
Although there was high-level support for Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment, questions were also raised about his suitability for the position and allegations around demands for substantial expenses.
In a document titled “Media Q&A for Duke of York role announcement”, a question is asked about the reputed 100k demand for office expenses.
The documents also show written replies as part of an interview with The Times shortly after he began his role. In these comments, Mountbatten-Windsor references visiting New York as part of his new trade role, raising questions as to whether he may have visited Epstein while on the job.
The response states: “There has never been a demand for any payment for office expenses. It was clear from the start that only expenses incurred on BTI business will be covered in HRH’s role. This is by mutual agreement with Buckingham Palace.”
Epstein links
The former duke’s position has come under fresh scutiny after the release of the Epstein files which led to allegations that he shared sensitive government information with his friend, the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein – which Mountbatten-Windsor denies.
Mountbatten-Windsor is known to have visited Epstein’ New York mansion, including a visit in December 2010 when the pair were snapped walking in Central Park together – but pair’s friendship appears to have predated Mountbatten-Windsor’s trade envoy role.
Some reports suggest the former duke met the pedophile in 1999, but two reports from the time, unearthed by The i Paper, indicate that by the time Mountbatten-Windsor was made trade envoy he and Epstein had already enjoyed an almost decades-long friendship.
A letter sent in 2011 to The Times from the former duke’s then-private secretary suggests the pair knew each other from the early 90s, while a column written by Dominic Lawson reveals that during the journalists own stay at one of Epstein homes in January 2000, he saw a framed photo of Mountbatten-Windsor with Epstein and Maxwell on display.
The trade department documents do not indicate whether or not Mountbatten-Windsor interacted with Epstein during that New York trip.
The former duke has been accused of sharing sensitive information with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while acting as a special representative for trade and investment between 2001 and 2011.
He was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office and later released under investigation.
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
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