Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

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British former prince and UK trade envoy (born 1960)

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Image Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor 2013.jpg
In Belfast, January 2013
Born 19 February 1960 Buckingham Palace, London
Nationality British
Occupation Former Royal Navy officer; UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment (2001–2011)
Known for Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein; removal of his royal titles in 2025
Parents Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York, is the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and the brother of King Charles III. He was born at Buckingham Palace on 19 February 1960.[1] From 2001 to 2011 he was the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.[2]

His friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein led him to step back from public duties in 2019.[3] In October and November 2025 he lost his royal style, titles and honours.[4] He was arrested on 19 February 2026 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, which he denies.[5]

Career

Trade envoy

Andrew became the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in October 2001, after retiring from the Royal Navy in July that year. According to Downing Street in 2011, the appointment was made "with the agreement of the then foreign secretary Jack Straw and the trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt". The post was unpaid, but his expenses and travel were paid. The royal biographer Andrew Lownie writes that Peter Mandelson helped him get the job.[2]

The role brought controversy. His former home, Sunninghill Park, was bought in 2007 by Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of the president of Kazakhstan, for £3 million more than its £12 million asking price. A representative for Kulibayev later told The Guardian that the purchase had been "a commercial, arm's-length transaction" in a competitive bidding process. In March 2011 there were calls for him to step down over his friendship with Epstein and his links with Saif Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader.[2] He stepped down from the role in July 2011.[6]

Titles removed

Andrew said on 17 October 2025 that he would no longer use his title, the Duke of York, or his other honours.[7] On 30 October 2025 Buckingham Palace said the King had begun "a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew", that he "will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor", and that he would leave Royal Lodge. The statement added that he "continues to deny the allegations against him".[4] Letters Patent dated 3 November 2025 removed his entitlement to "Royal Highness" and "Prince".[8] The Duke of York was removed from the Roll of the Peerage, though the peerage itself still exists. His Garter and Royal Victorian Order appointments were annulled, and he was reduced from vice-admiral to Commander (Retired). The Palace statement and the Letters Patent spell the surname without a hyphen. On 12 November 2025 the Palace said it would "use a hyphen going forward".[7]

Jeffrey Epstein

In 2011 his private secretary said Andrew had known Epstein since the early 1990s. The two were photographed together in December 2010, after Epstein had served a prison sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution.[6] In a videotaped deposition on 9 September 2016, in Virginia Giuffre's case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked whether he had met Andrew in London in about March 2001, and to questions about a photograph of Andrew, Maxwell and Giuffre in Maxwell's flat.[9]

Giuffre settlement

Virginia Giuffre sued him in the US, alleging that he had sexually assaulted her three times when she was 17. He denied it. In February 2022 the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, with no admission of liability. He agreed to make "a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights" and said he "regrets his association with Epstein".[10]

Trade envoy material

Emails in the January 2026 release of the Epstein files show that on 30 November 2010 Andrew forwarded to Epstein his official reports on visits to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore and Vietnam. He sent them five minutes after his special adviser, Amit Patel, had sent them to him.[11][12] On 24 December 2010 he sent Epstein what he called "a confidential brief produced by the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province for International Investment Opportunities".[13] The BBC notes that trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality, and that in 2019 Andrew told Newsnight he had last seen Epstein in early December 2010.[12]

According to the BBC, these emails led to the police investigation.[14] He was arrested on 19 February 2026. In October 2026 Thames Valley Police accepted at the High Court that the warrants used to search his homes had been unlawful. The investigation continues, and he denies any wrongdoing.[5]

Peru, 2002

Emails from 2002 in the Epstein files show the Peruvian businessman Juan Esteban Ganoza Temple helping Maxwell organise tours and social events, including a visit to the Nazca Lines, during Andrew's visit to Peru. In 2020 Ganoza Temple denied any link to illegal activity.[15][16] See Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Peru.

Gulf connections

  • Saudi Arabia: In 2011 David Rowland, then the largest donor to the Conservative Middle East Council, offered Andrew his private jets free of charge for a visit to Saudi Arabia to help secure deals for BAE Systems.[17] In a cable published by WikiLeaks in November 2010, the US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Tatiana Gfoeller, reported that he had criticised the Serious Fraud Office's investigation of the BAE arms deal with Saudi Arabia.[6]
  • Abu Dhabi: When he sent Epstein the Helmand investment brief, he wrote: "I am going to offer this elsewhere in my network (including Abu Dhabi)".[13]
  • Dubai: CBS News reported that the Epstein files show Epstein and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, then chairman and chief executive of DP World, arranging meetings with influential people, including Andrew and the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. Bin Sulayem was replaced at DP World in February 2026.[18]

United States

In 2002 Tobie Roosevelt chaired the first FDR Library Gala in Hyde Park, New York, held in his honour.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Westminster Abbey, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, son of Elizabeth II, accessed 25 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Simon Goodley, What was Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's trade envoy role? The Guardian, 21 February 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  3. ↑ The Royal Family, A statement by His Royal Highness The Duke of York, 20 November 2019, accessed 25 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Royal Family, A statement from Buckingham Palace, 30 October 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lucy Manning, Aleks Phillips and Dominic Casciani, Warrants used to search Andrew's homes were unlawful, court says BBC News, 8 October 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 BBC News, Prince Andrew: Envoy career plagued with controversy, 21 July 2011, accessed 25 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 David Torrance, The removal of titles and honours House of Commons Library, 12 March 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette, Crown Office, notice 4992102, 5 November 2025, issue 64895, p. 21342, accessed 25 October 2026.
  9. ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, EFTA02796492 (confidential videotaped deposition of Jeffrey Epstein, Giuffre v. Maxwell, case no. 15-cv-07433, S.D.N.Y., 9 September 2016), retrieved via Epstein Files Transparency Act Resources, accessed 25 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Mary O'Connor, Prince Andrew settles US civil sex assault case with Virginia Giuffre BBC News, 15 February 2022, accessed 25 October 2026.
  11. ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, EFTA00751685 (email "Fw: South East Asia Visit Reports", 30 November 2010), retrieved via Epstein Files Transparency Act Resources, accessed 25 October 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Andy Verity, Andrew shared confidential information with Epstein as trade envoy, files suggest BBC News, 8 February 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, EFTA00901048 (email "Afghanistan International Investment opportunities", 24–25 December 2010), retrieved via Epstein Files Transparency Act Resources, accessed 25 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Daniel Sandford, Epstein files could be just tip of the iceberg for Andrew investigation BBC News, 19 February 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Jordy Acevedo, Hernando de Soto es mencionado en archivos del caso Epstein: "No sé nada de esta gente" Infomercado, 3 February 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Archivos de Epstein mencionan nombres de peruanos Radio Victoria (Arequipa), 3 February 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Alastair Sloan, Revealed: The Gulf business tycoons backing the Conservative Middle East Council Middle East Monitor, 27 January 2016, accessed 25 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Jacob Rosen and Sophia Vlahakis, CEO of Dubai's largest port replaced after ties to Epstein revealed CBS News, 13 February 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.
  19. ↑ Northwood University, Tobie Roosevelt (2004 Distinguished Women awardees), archived copy, accessed 25 October 2026.
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