Court documents reveal that Buckingham Palace received an archive of approximately 30,000 emails in 2020, which included information showing that Prince Andrew shared confidential government briefings while serving as a trade envoy.

The emails, originally taken from a personal business contact, Jonathan Rowland, relate to financial dealings involving the Rowland family and the Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland, previously associated with Iceland's Kaupthing bank.

Some of the emails indicate that Mountbatten-Windsor provided privileged briefings on Icelandic banking issues to Rowland, raising questions over his conduct in public office.

The archive, also linked to legal disputes and shared with authorities in Monaco and Luxembourg, was handed to the Lord Chamberlain, the senior officer of the Royal Household, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

The full content of the emails remains unclear, though excerpts suggest they detail financial relationships and personal assurances made by Andrew for Rowland's ventures.Thames Valley Police have appealed for anyone with relevant information to come forward following Andrew's arrest on suspicion of misconduct.

Observers and commentators, including author Andrew Lownie, have criticised the lack of transparency around Mountbatten-Windsor's activities as a trade envoy and called for further parliamentary scrutiny.Buckingham Palace and the UK government have not disclosed the current status of the emails due to ongoing investigations.