The Huffington Post
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. The government has released its first tranche of documents charting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s previous appointment as a trade envoy. It comes after the Liberal Democrats applied pressure in the Commons via a binding parliamentary procedure called a humble address. They called for the government to publish sensitive documents around any vetting of the former prince and his appointment to the role. The former prince was appointed as the UK’s trade envoy in 2001, and held the job until the UK’s special representative until 2011. The significant title meant he had access to senior government and business contacts globally. Andrew stepped down amid backlash over his ongoing friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after they were pictured together. The former prince then had to give up his royal status and titles in more recent years amid growing scrutiny and the US Department of Justice’s release of the Epstein files. Andrew has categorically denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein’s crimes. Here’s a look at the main takeaways in the first batch of documents around the ex-royal’s historic appointment. 1. Late Queen Pushed For Andrew To Get The Job Elizabeth II asked for her second son to receive the UK trade envoy role, according to letter from the chief executive of British Trade International. Writing in 2000 to the UKs foreign and trade secretaries, David Wright said: “The Queen’s wish is that the Duke of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York. “The Duke of Kent is to relinquish his responsibilities around April next year. That would fit well with the end of the Duke of York’s active naval career. “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. The Duke of York’s adoption of his role would seem a natural fit.” The Duke of Kent, the Queen’s cousin, had often represented British trade interests overseas before Andrew. 2. Andrew Preferred ‘Sophisticated Countries’ The former royal’s private secretaries allegedly told diplomat Kathryn Colvin in January 2000 that he preferred some visits over others. “I asked what were The Duke’s preferences for activity during his visits,” her letter said. “Captain Blair [principal private secretary] said that The Duke of York was particularly good on high-tech matters, trade, youth (including primary schools and outward bound projects), cultural events, with a preference for ballet rather than theatre, the Commonwealth and military and foreign affairs. “He tended to prefer the more sophisticated countries, particularly those in the lead on technology.” 3. Andrew Did Not Want To Play Golf Mountbatten-Windsor tried to avoid playing the sport when in other countries. “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,” Colvin’s letter read. 4. No One Else Was Approached For Envoy Role A briefing note for the media announcement of Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment showed that no one else was approached for the job, even though he was not experienced. One question asked: “Did we approach anyone else?” The note says: “No - the importance of the Duke’s involvement lies in the high profile and commitment he is able to give this work as a Member of the Royal family. It is a continuation of the Royal Family’s involvement in the promotion of British trade and investment following HRH the Duke of Kent’s decision to relinquish his duties in April.” The briefing confirms the ex-royal was unpaid. 5. Shadowing Suggestion A memo from David Wright, written in February 2000, suggested the royal might need more training before he took on the high-level lobbying job. He wrote: “If the arrangement went ahead on this basis, we would want to do some induction work with The Duke of York from Spring 2001 onwards. “He might even do some ‘shadowing’ of work in our offices and our activities both in the regions and overseas. It would be important for him to be aware of our general strategy and approach.” What Happens Next? Another batch of files on Mountbatten-Windsor’s job will come soon. A No.10 spokeswoman told reporters: “We are complying with the humble address and we’re publishing those documents as quickly as possible. “We’re also supporting the police investigation as you would expect. “And we’ll provide the House with any other substantive documents we find in the course of that work.” Asked if it was acceptable that no vetting was taken into Andrew prior to his appointment, she said: “We have found no evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken, and there’s no evidence that this was considered. “And this is due to the fact that the role was a continuation of the royal family’s involvement in trade and investment promotion work following the Duke of Kent’s decision to relinquish his duties as vice chairman of British Trade International.” Subscribe to Commons People , the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. 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