The royal family is facing a bona fide crisis as questions relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor start to be asked of those around him. A centuries-old culture of secrecy has shrouded the royals, but that’s a hopeless anachronism, writes Herald writer Rebecca McQuillan

Only more openness can help the monarchy survive as an institution. Another day, another insight into the life of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Former senior Whitehall officials, speaking to the BBC, say that as UK trade envoy Mountbatten-Windsor charged the public purse for “massage services”. We have no further details – perhaps the prince had a sports injury.

The official says he refused to pay for the massages, but was overruled by his superiors. Taxpayers covered what the official thought were excessive travel-related costs for him and his entourage too. This might deepen public disdain for the former duke but no one is likely to be surprised by it, not given everything we already know about him.

There is no suggestion in this latest story that Mountbatten-Windsor did anything unlawful, but the story matters because it shows how the tentacles of the scandal around the former prince are spreading to other parts of the establishment. How much oversight was there of Mountbatten-Windsor by civil servants in his role as envoy between 2001 and 2011? Was there too much deference? The whistleblower suggests as much.

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