Britain30 May, 20262 min read
Buckingham Palace Received 30,000 Emails Showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Shared Confidential Information
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An archive of about 30,000 emails was handed to Buckingham Palace's Lord Chamberlain in 2020. The emails allegedly show Andrew sharing confidential government information during his trade envoy tenure.
Emails to the Palace
Buckingham Palace was handed an archive of more than 30,000 emails in 2020 that court documents say would have shown Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sharing confidential government information while he was a trade envoy. The BBC said it had seen court documents suggesting the cache contained information about the former prince’s financial dealings, and the broadcaster reported that the emails were taken from a personal business contact of Mountbatten-Windsor.
“Since there is an ongoing police enquiry concerning Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, it is not possible to provide any comment on these matters.”
When asked about what happened to the emails, Buckingham Palace said, "Since there is an ongoing police enquiry concerning Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, it is not possible to provide any comment on these matters." The BBC reported that the archive contents were said to include correspondence dating up to June 2013, and that a High Court judgment in April 2021 showed a "copy of the archive" had been provided for the "Lord Chamberlain in May 2020."
Trade envoy and Epstein
The emails were reported as being forwarded to the palace just months after Mountbatten-Windsor stepped down as a working royal, following his BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019. The BBC said the archive had been given to the Lord Chamberlain, and it reported that the palace role in 2020 was held by Lord Peel, with the BBC contacting him but the palace responding on his behalf.
In the same reporting, Mountbatten-Windsor denied wrongdoing and rejected any personal gain from his associations with Jeffrey Epstein, while the BBC noted that he paid an out-of-court settlement in 2022 thought to be worth about £12m. York Central MP Rachael Maskell told the BBC’s Today programme that "the system built around the Royal Household has to be reviewed," as she called for a public inquiry after the latest revelations.
Police inquiry and fallout
Thames Valley police issued a fresh appeal for information last week, and the BBC reported that the force indicated it could also investigate any allegations of sexual misconduct and was examining a claim that the king’s brother behaved inappropriately at Royal Ascot. LBC reported that Thames Valley Police widened its probe into Mountbatten-Windsor to include possible sexual offences, and said detectives were investigating a range of offences including sexual misconduct and corruption within the scope of misconduct in public office.
The BBC said Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on his 66th birthday in February on suspicion of misconduct in a public office amid allegations that he passed sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein while employed as a government trade envoy. In the same BBC account, the King’s statement after Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest said, "The law must take its course."