Queen was 'very keen' for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to take on a 'prominent role in the promotion of national interests', documents on his appointment as trade envoy in 2001 reveal

By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER Published: 11:07, 21 May 2026 | Updated: 11:23, 21 May 2026 Queen Elizabeth II was 'very keen' for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be a UK trade envoy, newly-released documents on his appointment in 2001 revealed today. Her Majesty wanted her second born son to take on a 'prominent role in the promotion of national interests', then-chief executive of British Trade International Sir David Wright said. Andrew was a 'natural fit', the Queen believed.  Sir David revealed the Queen's 'wish' for Andrew in a memo to then-foreign secretary Robin Cook dated February 2000.   'The Queen's wish is that the Duke of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York,' he said.  '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.' But Andrew later moaned about trips to undeveloped nations while working as a UK trade envoy, the newly-released documents also apparently show. The ex-prince griped about visiting certain states for his taxpayer-funded job between 2001 and 2011. He made candid remarks about his time as a trade envoy - a role that has now sparked his arrest in 2026. 'He tended to prefer more sophisticated countries' and has a preference 'for ballet over theatre', another document said.  Andrew's views about his job working for Tony Blair emerged in 11 files related to the disgraced former Duke of York released by 10 Downing Street today. The documents, published following a motion by Lib Dem MPs, shed more light on the discussions he had with the New Labour government at the time.  Peter Mandelson has been accused of disclosing sensitive information to their mutual friend, the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, while he was working as Business Secretary. Documents relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as trade envoy in 2001 are released by government. His arrest on his 66th birthday was related to the role Andrew (centre) in Bahrain in 2014 in his role as a trade envoy, flanked by Prince Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa (left) and Crown Prince and Bahraini Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (right) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest on February 19 – his 66th birthday - followed allegations that he had shared sensitive information with the late paedophile financier while working as trade envoy. Both Mandelson, who was also arrested following the release of the Epstein Files in the US, and Andrew, claim they had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes and being mentioned in the files is not an indication of guilt. Both men were released under investigation and deny any wrongdoing. Their cases will ultimately be considered by the CPS Special Crime Division, which deals with the most sensitive and complex cases. It has previously been reported that detectives investigating Andrew may try to broaden the scope of their enquiries beyond the misconduct in public office offences, for which it is difficult to mount a prosecution. The former Duke of York could be investigated over other potential corruption offences on top of a wider inquiry into alleged sex trafficking, police sources  have claimed. Andrew has been dogged for more than 15 years over allegations about his relationship with Epstein, and his arrest plunged the monarchy into a constitutional crisis. According to emails published by the US Department of Justice, Andrew appeared to have forwarded official reports of trips to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam onto the financier in 2010 and 2011. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has tried to press US authorities to expedite the release of unredacted exchanges in the files. The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.