Documents show Queen Elizabeth was eager for ex-Prince Andrew to become trade envoy
LONDON (AP) — The late Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth was “very enthusiastic” about it old Prince Andrew He will be appointed as Britain’s trade ambassador in 2001, according to documents released on Thursday that show his appointment received little scrutiny from government ministers.
The government released secret documents about the appointment in response to legislation passed by Parliament after MPs accused the king’s brother of damaging his friendship with the King. jeffrey epstein in front of the nation. The former prince was stripped of his royal titles, including Duke of York, last year and is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“The Queen is very keen for the Duke of York to take on a significant role in promoting the national interest,” the head of Britain’s trade body wrote to two senior cabinet ministers on 25 February 2000.
The Queen is worried about her son
The late queen’s involvement confirms pre-existing beliefs that the monarch had a soft spot for her second son; This may have influenced his lack of determination in dealing with allegations of his connections to Epstein. Royal commentators have argued for years that the queen should have moved more quickly to remove her son from royal duties and that her failure to do so had tarnished the monarchy.
Mountbatten-Windsor served as Britain’s special envoy for international trade from 2001 to 2011, when she was forced to step down over concerns about her links to dubious figures in Libya and Azerbaijan.
Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law and monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London, said that if nothing else, the documents showed that Elizabeth was worried about him.
“In a way, the queen making it clear that this is what she wants is the end of the debate,” Prescott said. “Her Majesty’s civil service, as it then was, would have to deal with this matter on that basis.”
MPs approved a motion in February I request the publication of the documents After the former prince was arrested and questioned for several hours over allegations that he shared government reports with Epstein while he was a trade envoy.
Documents show Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed with little care
In a written statement to MPs, Trade Minister Chris Bryant said “we found no evidence that a formal due diligence or review process was undertaken” before Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed as special trade envoy.
“There is also no evidence that this was considered. This is understandable because this new appointment was a continuation of the royal family’s involvement in trade and investment promotion following the Duke of Kent’s decision to step down as Deputy Chairman of the Overseas Trade Board,” he said.
He said the government was co-operating with Thames Valley Police on the investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor and possible misconduct in public office.
Mountbatten-Windsor stripped of royal titles Late last year, as the U.S. Department of Justice prepared to release millions of pages of documents related to its investigation. Epstein. These files showed how the wealthy financier used an international network of rich, powerful friends to gain influence and sexually exploit young women and girls.
Nowhere have the effects of the document’s release been felt more strongly than in the UK, where the scandal has raised questions about the wielding of power by the aristocracy, senior politicians and influential business owners known collectively as “the Establishment”.
Mountbatten-Windsor He vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Officials recommend former princes not be offered golf outings
But there were hints that some had doubts about giving Mountbatten-Windsor the high-profile trading role on which her effectiveness depends on her credibility. The back-and-forth suggested that while officials had not questioned his appointment, they had made suggestions about what he should not be allowed to do in the role.
Kathryn Colvin, head of protocol at the State Department, said in a January 2000 memo that Andrew’s private secretary “requested that the Duke of York not be asked to play golf abroad. This was a private activity and if he took his clubs with him he would not play in any public sense.”
Another document, a government memo sent to UK trade staff around the world, warned that Mountbatten-Windsor’s “high public profile” would require “careful and sometimes harsh media management”.
