Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost his royal titles in 2025 and was briefly detained in February 2026 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. However, the latest reports suggest that Buckingham Palace was provided with evidence, including emails in 2020, suggesting that the disgraced royal was sharing secret data while he was a government trade envoy.

According to the BBC report published on the weekend, the highest-ranking officer in the Royal Household, Lord Chamberlain, was handed a file of 30,000 emails that contained information about Andrew’s controversial financial dealings. The emails were reportedly obtained from the personal business associate of the former royal.

Upon being asked about the status of the emails, Buckingham Palace refrained from giving any comments, noting there was already an “ongoing police enquiry concerning Mr Mountbatten-Windsor.”

It was only in late May 2026 that Thames Valley Police released a fresh appeal requesting people with information to speak out, after the arrest of Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Nonetheless, an investigation into court documents showed that a large stash of emails relating to the disgraced royal had been sent to the Palace officials, years before the current investigation began.

The emails were at the center of a legal dispute, and records from a High Court ruling issued in April 2021 indicate that a “copy of the archive” had been given to Lord Chamberlain in May 2020. Per the BBC report, a subsequent High Court ruling dated July 10, 2020, in June 2022 stated that the emails had been “delivered to Buckingham Palace.”

He had appeared in a BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019, where he denied assault allegations made by Virginia Giuffre. While the contents of the archived emails up to June 2013 remain unknown, there have been indications of how significant they could be.

In the wake of the BBC report, one of Jeffrey Epstein‘s victims identified as Jess Michaels, a former dancer, also alleged that the Palace protected Andrew over the years. While speaking with The Telegraph, she said, “Six years ago, the Palace knew Andrew wasn’t just a problem; he could face a criminal investigation. And they sat on it.”

In 1991, Michaels was sexually assaulted by the disgraced financier when she was 22. She also defended Virginia Giuffre, a primary accuser of Epstein, insisting that she was “telling the truth.” She also expressed remorse about Giuffre not being alive to see what she believes is the truth and stated that it “breaks her heart,” further stating that others should also feel the same sense of sorrow.

“This is what institutions do. They protect powerful men and leave the people they harmed to carry it,” she added.

Guiffre accused Epstein and Andrew of sexual abuse when she was underage and died by suicide in April 2025. Andrew’s royal patronages, military affiliations, and use of the HRH title were taken away in 2022 after he reportedly tried to dismiss the lawsuit over sexual assault filed against him by Giuffre. He is said to have reached a private settlement with Giuffre for an undisclosed sum.