Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was reportedly preparing to travel to Bahrain or Abu Dhabi when arrested in February following a tip-off to a senior courtier. He has been released under investigation and denies any wrongdoing.
Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was reportedly “getting his passport ready” to flee Britain for the Middle East when he was arrested, reports suggest.
It’s claimed Andrew, who was stripped of royal titles and honours last year, was preparing to decamp to either Bahrain or Abu Dhabi in a bid to reinvent himself, The Mirror reports.
The 66 year old has since been released under investigation but, with bombs and missiles raining down across the region daily, any remaining hopes of reinventing himself amongst the Arab elite appear scuppered. Now, Donald Trump is believed to be primed for his “big one” offensive on Iran as the conflict there escalates.
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Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson maintains her own connections in the Middle East and she, alongside Andrew, was evicted from the Royal Lodge last year. A source revealed: “There is no way any of them are going to go to the Gulf and Middle East region for a long time to come. It is far too dangerous for them, just as it is for everybody else.”
The development marks another setback for the father-of-two, who this week reportedly feels it is “deeply unfair that people have turned on him” following the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy. The ex-duke, a former helicopter pilot with the Royal Navy, categorically refutes all allegations of misconduct.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a British diplomatic source with previous connections to the Yorks in the Gulf region observed: “It’s inconceivable that they’ll be visiting the region now, certainly not while the war is going on and it could, of course, be an indefinite war.”
Andrew had consistently identified the Middle East – home to billionaire sheikhs and emirs – as a potentially profitable avenue for generating income, both personally and for his wider network.
His relationship with Abu Dhabi’s ruling dynasty stretches back to his days at Gordonstoun, the prestigious Scottish boarding school, where he befriended Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, currently the UAE president and referred to by Andrew as MBZ. His dynasty ranks amongst the wealthiest globally, commanding an estimated £225 billion fortune.
Their assets include substantial London real estate holdings and majority ownership of Manchester City Football Club.
These associations became especially advantageous in 2001 when, following his departure from the Royal Navy, he secured the position of UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment – a post detractors suggest he subsequently exploited for personal financial gain. Andrew refutes any impropriety.