In a brand new Daily Expresso video, royal biographer and former Minister of State for Home Affairs, Norman Baker, has made fresh claims about the conduct of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor during his years as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, a role he held from 2001 to 2011. During that period, Andrew was tasked with promoting UK business interests abroad and supporting international trade relations on behalf of the government, often acting as a senior figure in overseas delegations and diplomatic engagements.
He stepped back from official royal duties in 2019 following controversy surrounding his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing, and he has denied any personal gain from his role as a UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
King Charles formally stripped Andrew of his remaining royal titles last year (Image: Getty)
In the Daily Expresso episode, Baker said ambassadors had reportedly raised concerns with the Foreign Office, describing Andrew as “a disaster” who was “not doing anything useful” and, in some cases, “antagonising people” due to what they viewed as “boorish” conduct.
He also recounted an alleged encounter involving an Italian designer during an official introduction, claiming Andrew dismissed the individual after they identified themselves, reportedly saying: “Never heard of you!” before walking away.
Norman Baker spoke of the incident in the episode. He said: “Our ambassadors around the world were writing into the Foreign Office to say ‘this guy’s a disaster, he’s not doing anything useful he’s actually antagonising people, because he’s to borish in the way he behaved.’
“On one occasion I think he met an Italian designer, a very important Italian designer that we were looking to do a deal with to get some stuff over here in the UK, and [Andrew’s] introduced to this designer, who said who they were and he said ‘never heard of you!’ And walked away. Talk about diplomacy.”
Baker, who served as a Liberal Democrat MP and held ministerial office in the UK government before becoming a writer and commentator on royal and political affairs, has previously been critical of the monarchy and has authored several books examining royal history and accountability.
Some of his works include … And What Do You Do?: What The Royal Family Don’t Want You to Know, published in 2020 and Royal Mint, National Debt: The shocking truth about the royals’ finances, published in November 2025.
The former Duke of York was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office, with the royal allegedly sharing sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein when he was the trade envoy. The investigation is ongoing.
Thames Valley Police said at the time: “As part of the investigation, we have today (19 February) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.”
Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his remaining royal titles last year.
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