Prince Andrew Sarah Ferguson agreed not to join the royal family at Sandringham on Christmas Day, sparing Windsor further embarrassment amid her accusations. Deep friendship with 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 used his friendship with Andrew to gain access to Buckingham Palace.
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, convinced him to part ways with the celebrations, spending several years away from the royal festivities, giving up his chance to return to Sandringham again for Christmas. .
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, 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.
Mr Yang, director of a Chinese investment consultancy firm, was barred from Britain in 2023 after authorities deemed him a potential national security threat.
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. Mr Yang, who was reportedly invited to the Duke’s birthday party in 2020, denied any wrongdoing, saying: “Broadly describing me as a ‘spy’ is completely wrong.
The case only came to light after Mr. Yang challenged his deportation at 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.