Buckingham Palace was handed emails in 2020 appearing to show that Prince Andrew shared confidential information while serving as a government trade envoy, according to a BBC report. The cache of over 30,000 emails was sent to the lord chamberlain, the most senior officer in the royal household.
The BBC said it had seen court documents suggesting the emails contained details about Andrew's financial dealings. Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he passed sensitive government information to financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The palace declined to comment, citing the ongoing police inquiry. Thames Valley Police issued a fresh appeal for information last week and indicated it could also investigate sexual misconduct allegations, including a claim of inappropriate behaviour at Royal Ascot.
The emails were reportedly sent from the account of British businessman Jonathan Rowland, an associate of Andrew, and were obtained during a dispute with an unnamed colleague. Their full contents are unknown, but they are understood to include correspondence up to June 2013.
The BBC reported that the emails were later obtained by Kevin Stanford, former majority owner of All Saints, who was involved in a separate dispute over investments linked to Rowland's father, David. Earlier this year, the Telegraph reported that Andrew had requested confidential Treasury information about the Iceland financial crisis in 2010 and shared it with Jonathan Rowland.
The emails were forwarded to the palace months after Andrew stepped down as a working royal following a disastrous Newsnight interview about his friendship with Epstein. He paid an out-of-court settlement to Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to be abused by Andrew, though he denied the claims.
