Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has a truly horrible day

Police appeal for potential victims to come forward as the palace aids its investigation

For the last three-and-a-half months, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been living on his brother’s Sandringham estate in the Norfolk countryside, largely out of public view and away from the front pages of the tabloids. The second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II was settling into his new life at Marsh Farm while avoiding doing anything that could generate bad headlines.

He ignored a letter from the City of London Corporation (meaning the independent body governing the historic one-square mile inside London proper, not London’s governance body) asking him to relinquish his freedom of the city honour. He stayed quiet after a man was charged with threatening behaviour against Andrew while he was walking his dogs.

With no new Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, that part of the tangle of scandals swirling around Andrew had receded into the background. Though the police investigation continued after his February 19 arrest and questioning on suspicion of misconduct in public office, it also did so away from public view.

That relative calm ended on Thursday with two separate but related updates. Neither could be described as positive developments for the royal as the police widen its investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

First, the government released documents related to Andrew’s appointment as trade envoy for the United Kingdom in 2001. He held the position for a decade before being forced to step down after the first flare-up of his scandalous relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as well as his tendency to offer too many inappropriate opinions to foreign leaders and diplomats, then-prime minister David Cameron told Robert Hardman for his biography of Elizabeth. The politician did offer one bit of backhanded praise for Andrew: “He was very good with all the tyrants.”

Sources had long stated that his mother pushed for him to be appointed to the high-profile position. Now, we have her opinion stated in a letter.

“The Queen is very keen that the Duke of York should take on a prominent role in the promotion of national interests,” wrote the head of British Trade International to senior government ministers in 2000.

That we can read that revelation is because opposition politicians had sought documents related to Andrew’s appointment. The government spent months tracking down paper records belonging to multiple departments. In the end, the government published 11 specific documents regarding how the role was created and how then-Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who was then leaving the Royal Navy, was appointed.

As Chris Bryant, the minister of state for trade, explained in his statement to Parliament, the late monarch’s cousin, the Duke of Kent, had held a similar trade position for 25 years and it was Elizabeth II who wanted her son to succeed him:

In February 2000, Sir David Wright put a formal appointment proposal to Ministers, explaining that the Duke of Kent intended to withdraw from his role supporting trade promotion overseas and it was Her late Majesty’s wish that the Duke of York should succeed him. He set out a proposed role encompassing two or three trade promotion visits overseas per year, visits to UK regions and receiving prominent overseas trade visitors in the UK.

The documents show that officials and Ministers had been considering expanding the role of the Duke of York for some time prior to the formal proposal. In January 2000, the then Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, agreed that greater use should be made of the then Duke of York.

In February 2026, Private Eye, a satirical news magazine in Britain known for its insider scoops, reported that then-Prince Charles “thought it wrongheaded as he suspected Andrew would use the post as an excuse to cultivate friendships with the wealthy, chase women and play golf,” using its standard coded name of “Brian” for Charles. The magazine claims that then-PM Tony Blair “overruled” Charles.

A Private Eye post on threads in February 2026, referencing how “Brian” — its code for King Charles — had not wanted his brother appointed as trade envoy

The 11 documents are dry, yet contain language suggesting that some in the palace and in government could see the possible dangers in the appointment of a royal known to be self-absorbed and entitled.

In January 25, 2000, when Kathryn Colvin, the head of protocol, asked about Andrew’s “preferences for activity during his visits,” his principal private secretary responded: “He tended to prefer the more sophisticated countries, particularly those in the lead on technology.” Oh, and he liked ballet rather than theatre.

And then there was his long-time love of golf, which reportedly was a cause of concern for then-Prince Charles. Andrew’s private secretary “particularly asked 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,” Colvin wrote in her memo.

In addition, the new information reveals that Andrew wasn’t subjected to any of the usual background checks done for such a role, Bryant acknowledged:

We have found no evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken. There is also no evidence that this was considered. This is understandable since this new appointment 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 the Overseas Trade Board.