The late Queen was 'very keen' for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be a trade envoy, according to documents that reveal the former duke demanded trips to 'sophisticated countries' and the ballet. 

Her Majesty pushed for her second son to take on a 'prominent role in the promotion of national interests' ahead of his appointment in 2001, then-chief executive of British Trade International Sir David Wright said.

The Queen believed Andrew was a 'natural fit' to succeed her cousin the Duke of Kent after he concluded his Royal Navy service in July 2001, the newly released documents show.

But Sir David was clear that Andrew, then fourth in line to throne, should not be 'burdened with the regularity of meetings - or the burden of paper which goes along with Board membership'. 

New files reveal Queen’s support for Andrew’s trade role 

The memo revealing the Queen's wishes for Andrew was released today as part of a trove of files related to his appointment, which gave him access to senior government and business contacts around the world. 

'The Queen's wish is that the Duke of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York,' Sir David wrote in a memo to then-foreign secretary Robin Cook dated February 2000 - just before Andrew's appointment.

The note continued: 'The Duke of Kent is to relinquish his responsibilities around April next year. That would fit well with the end of the Duke of York's active naval career. The Queen is very keen that the Duke of York should take on a prominent role in the promotion of national interests.

'No other member of The Royal Family would be available to succeed the Duke of Kent. The Duke of York's adoption of his role would seem a natural fit.'

Sir David suggested the role would include some regional trips and two or three overseas visits each year, as well as a 'leading trade mission from time to time'. 

But before taking the job, Andrew made it clear he wished to avoid travelling to undeveloped nations. 

The former prince complained via an aide about visiting certain countries as part of his taxpayer-funded job - a role that sparked his arrest earlier this year after the release of the Epstein Files.

'He tended to prefer more sophisticated countries' and has a preference 'for ballet over theatre' as well as 'youth' events, a never-seen-before letter said.

As Labour published the historic documents on Andrew's appointment, it was also revealed:

Andrew's views about his job working for Tony Blair emerged in 11 files related to the disgraced former duke of York released by No10 today.

And his preferences for trips were revealed in a letter from Kathryn Colvin, Head of Protocol Division, dated January 25, 2000.

She explained that his Principal Private Secretary Captain Blair told her that Andrew had a criteria for his visits.

Captain Blair warned her: '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.'

Ms Colvin wrote that she had been told the former prince was 'particularly good on high-tech matters, trade, youth (including primary schools and outward bound projects), cultural events, with a preference for ballet rather than theatre, the Commonwealth and military and foreign affairs'.

A line in this correspondence is redacted, with the Government saying some material has remained undisclosed to 'remove the bare minimum of personal information and information whose release would prejudice international relations'.

Andrew became the UK's special representative for international trade and investment in 2001 but stepped down ten years later due to the furore over his friendship with [child predator] financier Epstein.

Fresh scrutiny over Andrew’s trade envoy appointment

He received no salary for travelling around the world and at home promoting Britain's business interests, but criticisms were made about the thousands of pounds spent each year on his expenses and travel costs.

The documents, published following a motion by Lib Dem MPs, shed further light on the discussions he had with the New Labour government at the time of his appointment.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey today criticised the 'small paper trail' released by the Government in relation to Andrew's appointment.

The party's chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: 'It is shocking and deeply troubling that Andrew was appointed to the trade envoy role with no vetting. Nobody should be above such standards. This raises serious questions about why officials and ministers at the time thought that was acceptable.

'The lack of documentation provided is itself concerning, as is the time it has taken to get this far. We must get the full files from Government without delay, and an explanation about why there is such a small paper trail. And the Government must commit to mandatory vetting for all similar appointments in future.

'The victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, and the justice they have been denied for years, are foremost in our minds as this continues.

'We must have a full public inquiry into Epstein, his links to the British establishment, and the abuse he and his associates perpetrated against women and girls here in the UK.'

More Andrew files to be released, No10 confirms

A further tranche of files are to be published at a future date, Downing Street said.

A No10 spokesman told reporters: 'We are complying with the humble address and we're publishing those documents as quickly as possible.

'We're also supporting the police investigation as you would expect.

'And we'll provide the House with any other substantive documents we find in the course of that work.'

Asked whether it was acceptable that no vetting was carried out into Andrew, the spokesman said: 'We have found no evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken, and there's no evidence that this was considered.

'And this is due to the fact that the role 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 British Trade International.'

Peter Mandelson has also been accused of disclosing sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary.

Andrew's arrest on February 19 - his 66th birthday - followed allegations that he had shared sensitive information with the [child predator] financier while working as trade envoy.

Both Mandelson - who was also arrested following the release of the Epstein Files in the US - and Andrew claim they had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes and being mentioned in the files is not an indication of guilt.

Both men were released under investigation and deny any wrongdoing.

Their cases will ultimately be considered by the CPS Special Crime Division, which deals with the most sensitive and complex investigations.

It has previously been reported that detectives investigating Andrew may try to broaden the scope of their enquiries beyond the misconduct in public office offences, for which it is difficult to mount a prosecution.

The former duke could also be investigated over other potential corruption offences on top of a wider inquiry into alleged [sexual intercourse] trafficking, police sources have claimed.

Andrew has been dogged for more than 15 years over allegations about his relationship with Epstein, and his arrest plunged the monarchy into a constitutional crisis.

According to emails published by the US Department of Justice, the former prince appeared to have forwarded official reports of trips to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam onto the [child predator] financier in 2010 and 2011.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has tried to press US authorities to expedite the release of unredacted exchanges in the files. 

Andrew's decision to quit the envoy role in 2011 came in the same year he was pictured with his arm around his primary accuser, Virginia Giuffre, who said she was trafficked to Andrew at the home of convicted [sexual intercourse] trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Ms Giuffre, who committed [self-inflicted death] glast year, claimed she had [sexual intercourse] with the former prince three times – at Maxwell's home in London, at Epstein's New York townhouse and on the disgraced financier's Caribbean island, Little St James.

Andrew paid Ms Giuffre millions of pounds to settle a civil lawsuit in the US in 2022, a woman he claimed never to have met.

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