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Retired civil servants have come forward alleging that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, during his decade-long tenure as the UK’s trade envoy from 2001 to 2011, charged taxpayers for massages as well as incurred excessive travel expenses. One former official, who was part of the UK trade department in the early 2000s, expressed frustration at Andrew’s insistence on covering the cost of “massage services,” a request he initially refused to approve but was eventually overruled by senior management. Regarding this, the official told the BBC, “I thought it was wrong… I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway,” referring to a claim tied to a visit Andrew made to the Middle East.
The Department for Business and Trade has not disputed these allegations related to Andrew’s period as a trade envoy. Instead, they have directed attention to an ongoing police investigation into the former prince. Although Andrew’s trade representative role was unpaid, it was supported by civil servants and taxpayer funding for his international travels. A whistleblower who previously worked for the UK Trade and Investment department lamented that Andrew’s claim for massage expenses represented a missed chance to scrutinize his conduct. “I can’t say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong,” the retired civil servant reflected.
Another source, a former senior Whitehall official responsible for overseeing finances in this domain, corroborated these accounts and confirmed seeing similar expenses tied to Andrew’s trips. He stated that he had “absolutely no doubt” about the authenticity of these claims. Both whistleblowers chose to remain anonymous but independently shared their testimonies with the BBC. While the BBC has not been shown conclusive evidence of the massage expense from more than two decades ago, the department possesses documentation verifying the whistleblowers’ proximity to financial matters relating to Andrew’s envoy activities at the time. It is important to note that no illegal conduct has been suggested in Andrew’s behavior.
The former officials initially made contact with author Andrew Lownie, who is updating his biography of Andrew titled *Entitled*, before agreeing to speak with the BBC. One ex-civil servant was compelled to come forward after hearing Lownie state that no concerns within government had been raised about Andrew, clarifying that attempts had in fact been made but were ignored. The senior Whitehall figure described being shocked by what he considered lavish spending on flights, hotel rooms, and entourage costs during Andrew’s visits. He criticized the lack of financial oversight, recounting that the expenses were disorganized across various budgets and difficult to track, and remarked on the deference shown to Andrew by senior civil servants. “Checks on Andrew’s trips were given a ‘rubber stamp’, he recalls, rather than any scrutiny.”
Additionally, there have been previous claims suggesting Andrew’s fondness for massages. Documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein have shown a ledger listing payments for massages associated with an “Andrew,” though it remains unclear whether this refers to the former prince. Lownie’s biography also cites an incident where Andrew requested an ambassador arrange a massage during an overseas visit. The civil servants who spoke out described mixed experiences with Andrew; at times, he was “good company” and entertaining, but other occasions saw him as “shouting, being rude and generally offensive.” The author has criticized the limited public information about Andrew’s role as trade envoy and lamented multiple Freedom of Information requests being denied due to the volume of eligible files—one year of records alone reportedly involves nearly two thousand digital files.
Meanwhile, MPs on the Business and Trade Committee are set to consider launching an inquiry into the role and accountability of trade envoys, while the Liberal Democrats prepare to push for a debate on Andrew in the House of Commons. Another retired senior civil servant described Andrew as more of a liability than an asset in boosting UK trade, noting he often went “off script,” mistaking himself for an expert and being rude. These overseas
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