I can distinctly recall the time when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (Mr M-W) who was formerly known as Prince Andrew became a trade envoy for the UK. I was working in government circles at the time (no details sorry due to Official Secrets Act) and I thought that putting an active Royal in this post might be a splendid idea. I agreed with the idea that having a Royal sell the products of British industry, commerce and research could have been of great benefit to the UK.
I believed at the time that the good international image of Britain’s monarchy and the monarchy’s ability to connect to nations that were once part of Britain’s sphere of influence could help Britain’s economy. Whilst there were dangers inherent in putting someone from a family that is supposed to be above politics into a trade envoy role that could become political, my worries were somewhat calmed by realising that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s job was that of a salesman and nothing to do with policy. I took the view that even someone like Mr M-W with a reputation for loving the high life and who came with a whole lot of stories about him and his sense of entitlement could not do too much damage in such a role and he even might make a success of it.
Turns out I was wrong. Whilst the idea of putting a competent Royal in as Trade Envoy might have been a good idea, the problem came with the person that was appointed to the job in this case Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
There were significant problems that media such as the BBC spoke about back in 2011 of Mr M-W choosing destinations for his work that encompassed resorts, golf courses and ski resorts, all apparently on the public pound. Such excesses might have been somewhat excusable were it not for, as the BBC said in its 2011 article, Mr M-W’s continued contact with paedophile financier Jeffery Epstein and other dubious people some of whom were connected to the Libyan Gaddafi regime along with some ‘notorious’ members of the former Tunisian government. Other criticisms aimed at Mr M-W at the time were about how he could be woefully undiplomatic in situations where diplomacy was what was required.
It’s fair to say that when he stepped down as Trade Envoy it’s possible that a lot of people breathed a sigh of relief. No more would senior diplomats who understood how international diplomacy worked have to put up with the man known as ‘His Buffoon Highness’ by British diplomats working in the Persian Gulf.
But Mr M-W’s record as Trade Envoy has come back into the public eye again with regards to his contact with Epstein whilst Mr M-W was in that role. Following the latest releases of information in the Epstein Files by the US Government it appears that it wasn’t just disgraced Labour spin doctor and former US Ambassador Peter Mandelson who was leaking sensitive government information to Epstein it was Mr M-W as well.
According to a BBC report dated 8th February 2026, Mr M-W took sensitive commercial information that he had obtained in the course of his work as Trade Envoy and sent them straight on to Epstein.
The BBC’s 8th Feb 26 report said:
“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor appears to have knowingly shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein from his official work as trade envoy in 2010 and 2011, according to material in the latest release of files in the US seen by the BBC.
Emails from the recently-released batch of Epstein files show the former prince passing on reports of visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam and confidential details of investment opportunities.
Under official guidance, trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial, or political information about their official visits. The former Duke of York, who served as trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, has been contacted for comment but is yet to respond.”
If true this is appalling behaviour from Mr M-W. It is a total and utter dereliction of his duty as a trade envoy and someone working closely with government. If a career civil servant had leaked stuff like this and leaked it anywhere, not just to someone like Epstein, then they’d be looking at some sort of prison sentence, especially if it was found that the civil servant had a pecuniary interest in leaking said information.
These latest revelations about Mr M-W create an awful lot of questions. Questions such as how much money did his leaks cost Britain and British industry? Did British companies get into fiscal trouble or were subjected to hostile takeovers due to Mr M-W’s leaks? How much money did Epstein make out of the information supplied by the former Prince? Then there’s what the late Queen and possibly the King knew or knows about Mr M-W’s activities whilst as Trade Envoy. Was the King informed of the extent of Mr M-W’s questionable activities as Trade Envoy either before or after he ascended to the throne and did the late Queen blot her otherwise almost unblemished copybook regarding duty by sweeping Mr M-W’s alleged leaks under the carpet?
The King has so far managed to deal with the problem of Mr M-W by exiling him to a smaller house on the Sandringham Estate and stripping him of all titles and honours. This has obviously hurt Mr M-W and rightly so if the allegation about him having bad friends and being as leaky as a colander are correct. But maybe the King needs to do a little more with regards Mr M-W and take the necessary steps that will allow him to be questioned by the Metropolitan Police over the issues of the leaks?
It’s clear that Mr M-W is a wrong’un and a man who has made terrible decisions and allegedly abandoned his duty to the nation by being a leaker and who was clearly unsuitable for the post. What’s ironic about this story is that if some other Royal such as Prince Edward or Princess Anne had been picked for this post then they might have done a damned better job of doing it than Mr M-W appears to have done.
The allegations about the leaking and the questionable friends are so serious that Mr M-W needs to account for them to both the police and to the British public and in order to not have this affair taint the monarchy any longer, the King needs to throw Mr M-W to the wolves and do that very soon.
Links
2011 BBC story on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-12663378
2026 BBC story on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s leaks of sensitive information.