By Marisa Laudadio
10:39am PST, Mar 4, 2026
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A new report is fueling concerns about how
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor handled public money during his years representing Britain abroad as the government's trade envoy. According to whistleblowers, taxpayers covered more than official business.
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Whistleblower civil servants have accused Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of charging taxpayers for massages and excessive travel costs while serving as the British government's trade envoy, a position he held from 2001 to 2011. According to a report from the
BBC, the former Duke of York's requests for reimbursement for "massage services" during official trips were submitted and ultimately approved.
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A former U.K. trade department employee told the BBC that concerns were raised at the time but the payments were still authorized. "I thought it was wrong… I'd said we mustn't pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway," the onetime staffer said, referring to a claim submitted by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after a trip to the Middle East. The retired civil servant said it could have been a chance to put checks on the former Duke of York's behavior, telling the BBC, "I can't say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong."
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A second source described as a former senior Whitehall official was stunned by the scale of spending during Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's overseas visits while serving as trade envoy, including on seemingly excessive flights, hotel rooms and charges for members of his entourage. "I couldn't believe it… it was like it wasn't real money, they weren't spending any of their own money," the onetime senior official told the BBC after first sharing concerns with author Andrew Lownie, who wrote the 2025 book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.
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Questions about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's use of public resources don't end there. Newly released emails from a U.S. Justice Department
Jeffrey Epstein files document release reveal that officers from London's Metropolitan Police assigned to protect the former Prince Andrew were instructed to provide security for a 2010 dinner party at Epstein's New York City home. The messages suggest two
taxpayer-funded police officers guarded the door of the predator's Manhattan townhouse while guests allegedly gathered in the former Duke of York's honor, Britain's
Daily Express reported.
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Renewed scrutiny of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's behavior comes as the former Duke of York — whose royal titles were stripped away by his brother King Charles III in late 2025 — faces mounting legal trouble. In February 2026, he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office weeks after the U.S. Justice Department released emails suggesting he had passed along sensitive government documents to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as U.K.'s trade envoy.
