Duke of Kent<\/a> \u2014 shows that Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor had an extremely well-placed advocate. <\/p>\n\u201cThe Queen\u2019s wish is that the Duke of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York,\u201d the document reads, referring to Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor by a title he held at the time. It added: \u201cThe Queen is very keen that the Duke of York should take on a prominent role in the promotion of national interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
He preferred ballet to theater.<\/p>\n
The documents shed some light on Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s personal tastes. <\/p>\n
After a meeting with one of his aides, Kathryn Colvin, a British diplomat, recalled being told that Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was \u201cparticularly good on high-tech matters, trade, youth (including primary schools and outward bound projects), cultural events, with a preference for ballet rather than theater, the Commonwealth and military and foreign affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms. Colvin said she was also told that he \u201ctended to prefer the more sophisticated countries, particularly those in the lead on technology.\u201d The words that followed were redacted.<\/p>\n
The aide also told Ms. Colvin that Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor \u201cshould not be offered golfing functions abroad,\u201d saying that golf was a \u201cprivate activity\u201d and that \u201cif he took his clubs with him he would not play in any public sense.\u201d His reasons for saying this are a mystery.<\/p>\n
His aides prepped him for an interview.<\/p>\n
The documents include briefing papers prepared for Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor before a 2001 interview with The Times of London about his new position. The then-prince was encouraged to tell the reporter that he had \u201cno hesitation in taking up the role.\u201d <\/p>\n
It was also suggested that he acknowledge his \u201clack of direct business experience,\u201d say that he\u2019d faced \u201ca steep learning curve\u201d and add, \u201cBut I relish the challenge. Hope to make a difference.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was also prepared for questions about a visit to New York and the scene of the Sept. 11 attacks. He was encouraged to stress his \u201cdeep impression of courage and fortitude of New Yorkers and Americans more generally in the face of such adversity\u201d and to say that \u201c11 September, far from cowing their spirit, provoked new determination to defy the perpetrators.\u201d<\/p>\n
If asked about having left his life in the Royal Navy and started the trade position, it was suggested that he describe it as a \u201cbig wrench\u201d but add that his new role was one in which he \u201cwould never stop learning.\u201d <\/p>\n
He was never vetted.<\/p>\n
In a statement accompanying the documents, Chris Bryant, a trade minister in Mr. Starmer\u2019s government, said there was \u201cno evidence that a formal due diligence or vetting process was undertaken\u201d before Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was given the post, or that anyone considered doing so. <\/p>\n
Mr. Bryant added, however, that this was \u201cunderstandable\u201d because the appointment \u201cwas a continuation of the royal family\u2019s involvement in trade and investment promotion work following the Duke of Kent\u2019s decision to relinquish his duties.\u201d<\/p>\n
One document \u2014 in a question-and-answer format, apparently prepared for the media \u2014 addresses doubts about Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s suitability for the role. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut he is not very experienced,\u201d one question reads. \u201cWhy not someone better placed?\u201d <\/p>\n
The answer cites the \u201chigh profile and commitment he is able to give to this work as a member of the royal family.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are limits to the British government\u2019s transparency.<\/p>\n
Some of the text is redacted. By way of explanation, Mr. Bryant said officials had withheld the \u201cbare minimum\u201d of personal information and material that would prejudice international relations. <\/p>\n
Officials were also in contact with the police investigating Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, Mr. Bryant said, suggesting that they wanted to be sure that nothing they released prejudiced the investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stripped of his royal titles, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, is being investigated by the British police…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[6371,6615,6667,14415,21922,93813,9,24,63,33456,122,124,123,54333],"class_list":["post-240063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-andrew","tag-duke-of-york","tag-epstein","tag-great-britain","tag-jeffrey-e-1953","tag-mandelson","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-peter","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-royal-families"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}