Queen Elizabeth II was ‘very keen’ on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor taking over the role of trade envoy, according to documents released on ThursdayMatt Jackson Trendswatch Content Editor and Emma O’Neill Content Editor
12:10, 21 May 2026
The Queen was reportedly keen on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor taking a trade envoy role(Image: Max Mumby/Indigo, Getty Images)
The late Queen Elizabeth II was ‘very keen’ on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor assuming a ‘prominent role in the promotion of national interests’.
Mountbatten-Windsor served as a trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. He was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office but was subsequently released under investigation. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Now, a memorandum in which the Queen discussed his appointment as a trade envoy has been made public as part of a batch of documents. It was exchanged between the then-chief executive of British Trade International, Sir David Wright, and the then-foreign secretary Robin Cook, and was dated February 2000, reports the Daily Star.
Sir David proposed the position would involve some regional trips and two or three overseas visits annually, as well as a “leading trade mission from time to time”. He added: “We would nonetheless ensure that he was kept in touch with board developments and issues.”
Sir David explained the Queen believed there was “no other” member of the Royal Family who could assume the position. He wrote: “The Queen’s wish is that the Duke of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York.”
Andrew was arrested in February(Image: PA)
“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.”
At the time of writing, the late Queen’s cousin, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, regularly represented British trade interests overseas in a number of related capacities. The documents concerning the former prince’s role have been made public following a request submitted by the Liberal Democrats in February.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called on the Government to publish all paperwork connected to the creation of the special representative for trade and investment role and Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment to it in 2001. A ministerial statement regarding the documents is anticipated in Parliament this afternoon.
The Queen was keen on Andrew taking a trade role(Image: Getty Images)
The Liberal Democrats have hit out at the “small paper trail” released by the Government in connection with the 2001 appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as trade envoy.
Lib Dem 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.”