By Molly Claire Goddard
1:10pm PST, Dec 30, 2025
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Official documents related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's travel when he was acting trade envoy from 2001 until 2011 were accidentally released by the government. In the files, 16 of 80 pages from the logs were seemingly removed. In
response, the Cabinet Office cited an "administrative error" and claimed the papers weren't intended for release.
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According to
Daily Express, the missing information detailed a discussion between the Foreign Office and Palace officials about the cost of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's visits to China, Russia, Spain and Southeast Asia. The files stated that future trade envoy visits would be funded by the Royal Travel Office instead of the U.K. Trade and Industry.
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Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, slammed the government for withholding the information. "There should be no royal exemption at all," he said in a statement via Daily Express. "But this exemption surely doesn't apply to Andrew now that he's no longer a royal. The most likely reason for this attempt to stop disclosure is pressure from the palace. The royals have sought to keep everything under wraps when it comes to Andrew, not to protect him but to protect themselves."
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"The royals are one of the most secretive institutions in the U.K. These documents should be released without fear or favor, to allow the public to make informed judgements about the royals," Graham Smith said.
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In response to the concerns, the Cabinet Office said in a statement, "All records are managed in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act. Any release is subject to an extensive review process, including engaging expert stakeholders."
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles and evicted from Royal Lodge over his ties to
Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of misconduct. "He's coming to terms with the fact he's lost everything that mattered to him: his status, his position in the royal family and military and to a lesser extent, a fractured family," a source told
The Telegraph.
