Documents that reveal Queen Elizabeth’s stance on former Prince Andrew’s U.K. trade envoy role have been released, and the papers include some unusual demands made by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Copies of the documents were published in the Daily Mail on May 21, and a letter addressed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary and Secretary of State shows that it was “The Queen’s wish” for Andrew to replace the Duke of Kent as a U.K. trade envoy.
The 2000 letter, written by Sir David Wright, Chief Executive of British Trade International, details a conversation Wright had with Queen Elizabeth’s private secretary. “The Queen is very keen that the Duke of York should take on a prominent role in the promotion of national interests,” the letter reads, adding that “no other member of the Royal Family would be available” to take the position on.
Another letter, written by Kathryn Colvin, Head of Protocol Division, revealed the former Duke of York’s preferences when related to traveling on behalf of the U.K. She noted that his private secretary told her that Andrew “tended to prefer the more sophisticated countries, particularly those in the lead on technology”—but the rest of the sentence is redacted from the document.
As for the types of engagements he wanted to attend, Colvin said that Andrew “was particularly good on high-tech matters” along with events related to young people, but preferred “ballet rather than theatre.”
Although Andrew has been a passionate golfer for years, his private secretary made one very specific request related to his trade envoy work. “Captain Blair particularly asked that The Duke of York should not be offered golfing functions abroad,” the letter said. It continued that even if “he took his clubs with him,” Andrew “would not play in any public sense.”
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office after e-mails allegedly showed that he shared confidential documents with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A spokesman for the government said that more documents will be released in due course, and although Andrew did not have business experience, there was “no evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken, and there's no evidence that this was considered.”
