Prince Andrew Charged Taxpayers for Massages as Trade Envoy: Guardian

Former senior civil servants have reported that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor charged British taxpayers for massage expenses and excessive travel costs during his tenure as the UK’s trade envoy, according to The Guardian.¹

The former senior civil servants told The Guardian they were shocked upon seeing the expense claims submitted by Mountbatten-Windsor.¹ The officials described a culture of deference within Whitehall toward the former prince that allowed questionable expenses to be approved without proper scrutiny.¹

Expense Claims and Approval Process

The Guardian’s reporting indicates that massage costs were among the expenses charged to taxpayers during Mountbatten-Windsor’s time serving as trade envoy for the United Kingdom.¹ Former civil servants characterized the travel expenses as excessive.¹

According to the former officials who spoke to The Guardian, the deferential treatment Mountbatten-Windsor received within government bureaucracy meant that expense claims that would have faced scrutiny if submitted by other officials were “waved through” without challenge.¹

The civil servants’ accounts to The Guardian suggest that standard approval processes applied to other government officials’ expenses were not applied equally to Mountbatten-Windsor’s claims.¹ The culture of deference described by the former officials indicates that his status as a member of the royal family influenced how his expense submissions were reviewed within British government departments.¹

Details Not Disclosed

The Guardian’s report does not specify the total amount of taxpayer money involved in the massage and travel expenses.¹ The report also does not identify the specific civil servants who raised concerns about the claims or provide the time period during which the expenses were charged.¹

The nature of the massage expenses—whether they were charged during official travel, the frequency of such claims, or the justification provided for them—was not detailed in The Guardian’s reporting.¹ Similarly, what made the travel expenses “excessive” in the view of the former civil servants was not elaborated upon in the report.¹

Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK’s trade envoy, a position that involved promoting British business interests abroad and facilitating trade relationships.¹ UK authorities have recently expanded their investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct, including scrutiny of his activities during his time in public-facing roles.¹

The Guardian report indicates that multiple former senior civil servants were aware of the expense claims and the deferential treatment that allowed them to proceed through approval channels.¹

References

1. The Guardian — “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor charged massages to taxpayers while trade envoy, say reports”