Official documents detailing usually taxpayer-funded business trips taken by Prince Andrew are being withheld.Credit:Getty
The date was released in a government response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from Andrew Lownie,a royal biographer.
Lownie,who has made a number of requests seeking clarification on Andrew’s numerous business trips,which were usually paid for by the taxpayer,believes a “culture of secrecy” surrounds royal correspondence.
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“Members of the royal family are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act but I would hope with a new reign that only pertinent FOI exemptions such as national security,relations with another country,information given in confidence etc will be applied alongside data protection considerations,” Lownie said.
“We are in the absurd position that Prince Harry can reveal the most intimate details of royal life from months ago for personal commercial gain and royal households currently brief against each other,yet historians cannot look at files.
“It is extraordinary that files relating to Prince Andrew,the subject of my next biography,will be closed until 2065.
“Many questions remain about his role as trade envoy,a public appointment paid for by the taxpayer,and his associations with figures such as Jeffrey Epstein.