Buckingham Palace Handed Emails Accusing Disgraced Prince Andrew of Leaking State Secrets

Buckingham Palace was given emails accusing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of leaking state secrets during his time as a UK trade envoy, even as the disgraced former prince was photographed near Sandringham on Thursday with a conspicuous purple bruise around his eye.

The news came after weeks of renewed scrutiny of the King's younger brother. Andrew, 66, has been keeping a notably low profile on the Sandringham Estate following a reported security scare last month, and remains under police investigation over alleged misconduct in public office. He denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged.

On Thursday, 4 June, Andrew was seen driving his Land Rover near Marsh Farm on the Norfolk estate, with another man and a dog beside him. The dark mark around his eye immediately prompted speculation.

Reports linked the bruising to what has been described as a non-serious medical condition, rather than any incident connected to the ongoing inquiries.

The timing, however, is awkward. His appearance follows an incident on Wednesday, 6 May, when Andrew was said to have been exercising the late Queen's corgis near the Sandringham grounds and was unexpectedly confronted.

That encounter triggered a security alert and led to the arrest of a man accused of threatening him. Alex Jenkinson, 39, of no fixed address, has been charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to harass or cause alarm or distress.

Andrew is expected to appear in court in July, where he is expected to give evidence at Jenkinson's trial regarding the alleged threat made near his residence on the estate, according to the Express.

Buckingham Palace Emails Put Andrew Under New Pressure

The bruise story broke barely a week after it emerged that Buckingham Palace had been handed a vast cache of emails accusing Andrew of leaking confidential state information during his years as a British trade envoy.

Around 30,000 emails, reportedly detailing the former Duke of York's private financial dealings and business contacts, were passed to the Lord Chamberlain back in 2020.

The messages were said to have been taken from a close personal business associate of Andrew and are now understood to sit at the heart of a police inquiry into alleged misconduct in public office.

Those emails are said to include allegations that Andrew shared sensitive government information in the course of his unofficial business activities.

None of those claims has been proven. At this stage, nothing has been confirmed by investigators, and all such allegations should be treated with caution until the police conclude their work.

Buckingham Palace has declined to address the details of the leak allegations. Officials have said they are unable to comment because of the active police investigation, a line the Palace has now held to repeatedly as the drip of revelations has continued.

The existence of the email trove adds a new layer of jeopardy for a man already forced from public life. Andrew's formal role as a working royal collapsed after his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became impossible to ignore, and after his catastrophic 2019 Newsnight interview.

In August 2024, King Charles removed his taxpayer-funded police protection as the fallout from the Epstein scandal intensified, according to previous reports.

Disgraced Royal Faces Court Appearance And Epstein Questions

Alongside the emails, the misconduct probe centres on Andrew's conduct at his Sandringham home, where he was arrested on his 66th birthday, 19 February, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He spent more than 12 hours in police custody before being released under investigation. Police have not charged him, and Andrew has rejected any suggestion of criminal behaviour.

The details of that misconduct allegation have not been made public. Without formal charges or a full police statement, there is a vacuum that is swiftly being filled by long-standing critics and political voices who argue that the former prince has never properly answered for his past.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has openly called for a deeper investigation, urging police to examine claims of abuse at royal properties linked to Epstein. Those remarks have added a political edge to what had largely been treated as a royal-family problem, and they have ramped up pressure on both law enforcement and the Palace.

Andrew's defenders insist he has already paid a heavy price, pointing to the loss of his titles, patronages and protection, and to his effective exile from public engagements. His critics argue that the unresolved questions over Epstein, the Sandringham arrest and now the emails alleging state-secret leaks make that settlement look increasingly incomplete.

For now, the man once known as the Duke of York is left in a curious limbo: no longer a prince in practical terms, still a focus of tabloid fascination, and waiting to give evidence in a Norfolk courtroom while investigators sift through tens of thousands of messages that could yet define what remains of his public life.