Prince Andrew Sarah Ferguson agreed not to join the royal family at Sandringham on Christmas Day, and Windsor had to spare further embarrassment amid the allegations. A close friend of an alleged Chinese spy.
The Duke of York is at the center of fresh controversy after Yang Tengbo, One of his former colleagueswas barred from the UK for “secret and fraudulent activity”.
Chinese businessman, The designation was made after a judge lifted a court order on Monday.He is said to have taken advantage of his friendship with Andrew to gain access to Buckingham Palace and secure meetings with former prime ministers. David Cameron and Theresa May.
In the wake of the revelations, the Duke faced calls to pull out of a Christmas dinner at Buckingham Palace on Thursday and to avoid appearing with the royal family at Sandringham next week.
It is understood that his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, persuaded the Duke to part ways with the celebrations, giving up his chance to return to Sandringham again for Christmas and several years out of the royal festivities. spent
She is believed to have come to the Royal Family’s rescue after King Charles and Queen Camilla privately urged Andrew to “see sense” and pull out of next week’s public engagement, because of spying. The conflict continues to grow.
The couple’s decision to stay at the Royal Lodge was made easier by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s plans to spend Christmas with their in-laws for the first time this year.
Fergie returned to the royal family last December, joining the family for the first time in 30 years for their annual Christmas Day walkabout – a landmark moment since her high-profile divorce from Andrew in 1996.
Her attendance marked a departure from decades of exclusion following the infamous “toe-sucking” scandal of 1992, which saw Prince Philip bar Beatrice and Eugenie’s mother from the royal event.
But last year, Charles softened his stance, inviting the Duchess to join the family at Sandringham for the first time in decades, although she did not accompany him to church.
The Duke, meanwhile, has been embroiled in court proceedings surrounding the alleged spy, whose appeal against deportation from the UK was dismissed by an expert tribunal last Thursday.
Yang, director of a Chinese investment consultancy firm, was barred from the UK in 2023 after authorities deemed him a potential threat to national security.
At a hearing in July, the tribunal was told that an adviser to Prince Andrew claimed he could act on the Duke’s behalf when engaging with potential investors in China. Yang, who was reportedly invited to the Duke’s birthday party in 2020, denied any wrongdoing, saying: “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is completely false.”
The case only came to light after Yang challenged his deportation to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
On Friday, a statement from the duke’s office said: “The Duke of York has followed the advice of Her Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with this individual following concerns raised. The duke has contacted this individual through official channels. He is unable to comment further on matters related to national security.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.