Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the 66-year-old brother of King Charles III, was handed his role as a special trade envoy in 2001 without so much as a background check or a security clearance. According to documents released by the British government on Thursday, the appointment was less a matter of merit and more a maternal command. The late Queen Elizabeth was reportedly “very keen” for her son to take on a “prominent role,” effectively bypassing the usual due diligence.

The release comes as Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey continues to push for clarity on whether Lord Peter Mandelson played a role in the appointment. Mandelson, who was famously sacked as U.S. ambassador for his own ties to Jeffrey Epstein, remains a shadow over the whole affair. The documents show no formal vetting was ever performed on the Prince before he began meeting world leaders and business titans on behalf of the UK.

It is the ultimate status scandal: a royal ne'er-do-well parading across the globe on a mandate written in his mother’s stationery. While the public is told that security vetting is a non-negotiable pillar of national safety, the elite simply treat the velvet rope as a suggestion. Prince Andrew’s decade-long stint as an envoy is a masterclass in how the high-born treat international trade as a personal club, and the Epstein files are the bill that has finally come due.