Whistleblowing retired civil servants have alleged that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor charged taxpayers for massages and extravagant travel while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
One former civil servant, who worked in the UK’s trade department in the early 2000s, said he was so frustrated by Andrew’s request to cover “massage services” that he initially refused to approve the payment, but was ultimately overruled by senior staff.
“I thought it was wrong… I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway,” he told the BBC, referring to a claim following Andrew’s visit to the Middle East.
The Department for Business and Trade has not disputed the allegations regarding Andrew’s tenure as envoy between 2001 and 2011 but has highlighted the ongoing police investigation into the former prince.
The BBC reached out to Andrew for comment. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his associations with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and insists he did not personally benefit from his trade envoy role.
While the trade role was unpaid, Andrew had access to civil servant support and taxpayer funds for international travel.
Reflecting on the revelations from the Epstein files, the former civil servant expressed regret that Andrew’s claim for a massage wasn’t questioned at the time. “I can’t say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong,” he said.
Another source, a former senior Whitehall official responsible for finances in the area, corroborated the claims, asserting he had “absolutely no doubt” about the authenticity of the expenses.
Both former civil servants, who spoke anonymously, had initially contacted author Andrew Lownie, who is updating his biography of Andrew, Entitled, and later agreed to speak to the BBC.
One ex-civil servant told the BBC that he wanted to clarify that attempts were made internally to raise concerns about Andrew, despite Lownie’s statement that no one in government had flagged issues.
The senior Whitehall official said he was astonished by the scale of Andrew’s extravagant spending as envoy, including excessive flights, numerous hotel rooms, and charges for his entourage.
“I couldn’t believe it… it was like it wasn’t real money, they weren’t spending any of their own money,” he said, noting that costs were often hidden across different budgets, making them hard to trace, and there was uncertainty over the composition of Andrew’s entourage.
The official attributed the lack of oversight to the deference shown by senior civil servants to the then-prince, recalling that checks on Andrew’s trips were often merely a “rubber stamp” rather than proper scrutiny.
There have been previous reports of Andrew’s preference for massages. In a US court statement, a former Epstein employee, Juan Alessi, claimed Andrew had a “daily massage” during his visits.
Emails relating to Epstein also include a ledger listing payments for massages for an “Andrew,” though it is unclear if this refers to the former prince. Lownie’s biography Entitled also mentions that Andrew requested a massage from an ambassador during an overseas trip.
The ex-civil servant added that experiences with Andrew varied: while he could be “good company” and entertaining, he sometimes observed him “shouting, being rude and generally offensive.”
Lownie has criticized the lack of public information on Andrew’s tenure as trade envoy, noting that multiple Freedom of Information requests have been denied due to the extensive volume of records.
One rejection stated that reviewing just one year of Andrew’s envoy work would involve 1,927 digital files.
MPs on the Business and Trade Committee are scheduled to meet this week to consider an inquiry into trade envoys and their accountability.
The Liberal Democrats are also preparing to push for a Commons debate on Andrew, while former Conservative minister Tom Tugendhat has called for an independent inquiry led by MPs, peers, and judges.
Another retired UKTI official recalled that Andrew sometimes hindered rather than helped UK trade efforts. “Andrew was seen as a liability. He went off script, he thought he was an expert, when he wasn’t. He thought he was funny, when he was being rude to people,” the official said, adding that months of preparation for his visits could result in negative outcomes.
During a sensitive Middle Eastern posting, the official said he had even tried to delay Andrew’s visits with various excuses, but a fear of career repercussions discouraged staff from speaking out.
“No one would complain, it wouldn’t help your reputation,” he said.
The Department for Business and Trade reiterated that Andrew’s role as “UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment” was different from the modern envoy system, which now has formal conduct rules for MPs and peers.
They also pointed to the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
On Thursday, Andrew was arrested by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office but has not been charged.
