Ex-Prince Andrew Documents Release: Queen Pushed for Trade Envoy Role

British government documents relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as a trade envoy have been published, including evidence that the late Queen Elizabeth II supported his selection for the role.

The papers, disclosed as part of a parliamentary update, show that in February 2000 officials proposed the Mountbatten-Windsor as a successor to the Duke of Kent, citing the late Queen's wish that the then prince take on the position.

Chris Bryant, minister for trade, told the House of Commons in a statement: “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 [one of Andrew’s former titles] 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.”

“We have found no evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken,” Bryant continued. “There is also no evidence that this was considered.”

Questions may be asked of the late queen’s decision to recommend her son for the role, though Bryant’s statement makes clear that the government needed little persuasion

“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,” Bryant said. “In January 2000, the then foreign secretary, Robin Cook, agreed that greater use should be made of the then Duke of York.”

The release comes against the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The investigation was triggered by reports that he allegedly leaked government files to Epstein in 2010, a decade after his appointment. The documents released today therefore relate primarily to his original selection for the role and are unlikely to shed light on the substance of the police inquiry.

The government said steps were taken to ensure publication would not jeopardize the work of detectives.

Mountbatten-Windsor, a younger brother of King Charles III, was arrested in February by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released under investigation. No decision has yet been made on whether he will be charged.

It followed reports alleging the former prince leaked confidential government trade reports to Epstein while he was a trade envoy. Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied Epstein-related wrongdoing.

What Do the Documents Show?

One document, seen by Newsweek, shows Kathryn Colvin, Head of Protocol Division, air a concern raised by Mountbatten-Windsor principal private secretary, a senior aide.

“Captain [Neil] Blair 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.”

The concern is mild compared to the serious allegations made over Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with Epstein. However, it does allude at some of the criticisms made of Mountbatten-Windsor, for example in the biography Entitled, by historian Andrew Lownie, that he could not be trusted to focus on official business without using overseas trips for his own benefit.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 3:42 AM.