FILES relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were hastily redacted before their official public release.
Details were blacked out from a No 10 file relating to royal visits.
The Sun saw the original from 2004 and 2005 which included discussions on who should pay the £90,000 in travel costs the former prince incurred on official business.
It stated that the Royal Travel Office would fund his trade envoy trips rather than UK Trade and Industry.
The details were gone when, days later, the documents were released from the archives in Kew, South West London, under the 20-year rule.
Graham Smith, of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said: “The royals are one of the most secretive institutions in the UK.
READ MORE ON ANDREW WINDSOR
“These documents should be released without fear or favour, to allow the public to make informed judgments.”
The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for transferring the files to the National Archives, blamed an administrative error.
It said that the documents had never been intended for release.
A spokesman said: “All records are managed in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act. Any release is subject to an extensive review process.”
The former Prince Andrew, 65, was stripped of his titles over his links to paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein.
He has always denied any wrongdoing.
Blair’s Di chat ban
DOWNING Street refused to release a conversation between PM Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac after Princess Diana’s 1997 Paris death, newly declassified documents reveal.
No 10 officials ruled the leaders’ chat was “not in the public interest”.
Chirac could not be contacted for hours after Diana’s death.
His chauffeur later claimed he had been with a mistress.
