Prince Andrew will not be joining his family at Sandringham on Christmas Day, saving the royals further embarrassment amid claims he was good friends with an alleged Chinese spy.
The Duke of York has been embroiled in yet another controversy as one of his former close confidants Yang Tengbo has been barred from the country on the grounds he was considered to have engaged in “covert and deceptive activity”.
The Chinese businessman, who was named on Monday after a judge lifted a court order, is said to have used his close friendship with the royal to secure invitations to Buckingham Palace. He also met former prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
Prince Andrew leaves after attending the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in 2022 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Following the reports, the duke had been urged to withdraw from a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday and also avoid being seen with his family in Sandringham on Christmas Day next week. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie had already planned to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws this year for the first time.
The duke has been mentioned in court proceedings involving the alleged spy, whose appeal of his exclusion from Britain was dismissed by a specialist tribunal last Thursday.
Now named as Yang Tengbo, the 50-year-old director of a Chinese investment consultancy firm was barred from the UK in 2023 after it was deemed he would likely pose a threat to national security.
Andrew with Yang Tengbo, who is barred from the UK (YouTube/PitchAtPalace)
At a hearing in July, the tribunal was told that an adviser to Andrew said he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that the agent, had been invited to the royal’s birthday party in 2020.
Mr Yang said he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful” and the “widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue”. His case only came to light after he challenged his removal from the UK at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
On Friday, a statement from the duke’s office said: “The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.
“The duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
