Palace officials have been 'dismayed' by the fact that the Lord Mandelson furore has blown up on the eve of Donald Trump's State visit – with King Charles himself said to have complained that it was a 'distraction'.
Sir Keir Starmer's sacking of the Labour peer over his links to Jeffrey Epstein has not only left Britain without an ambassador to Washington at the crucial time, but has also shone an unwelcome spotlight on Prince Andrew's connections with the convicted paedophile.
Ahead of the US President's arrival on Tuesday, a diplomatic source said: 'The Palace has been grumbling about how unhelpful it all is. Charles regards it as an unwelcome distraction.'
As the Government put the finishing touches to preparations for the visit, Downing Street sources claimed that Lord Mandelson was 'economical with the truth' when questioned by the Prime Minister about his relationship with Epstein.
Sir Keir was reported to have put three questions to the peer after reading a file about him prepared by the Cabinet Office's propriety and ethics team before his appointment as ambassador to the US.
