Prince Andrew won’t join King Charles and royal family for Christmas amid Chinese spy scandal

nypost.com:

for Christmas this year. Instead, the Duke of York, 64, will “honourably withdraw” from the royal family’s Christmas celebrations at their estate in Sandringham, England to avoid being a distraction, according to the BBC.It is expected that Andrew will remain home at Royal Lodge in Windsor Park — the palatial estate he has fought to remain in after King Charles attempted to evict him.

Andrew’s bowing out comes after a British high court hearing last week heard evidence suggesting that an alleged Chinese spy banned from the UK was a “close” confidant of the prince.

On Monday, businessman Yang Tenbo, also known as Chris Yang, was revealed to be the alleged Chinese operative after a judge lifted an anonymity order that had kept his identity under wraps.

Yang has denied the accusations of espionage leveled against him, saying in a statement that he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded.”He also said that it is “entirely untrue” that he was a spy.The Chinese national visited the UK regularly and frequently attended events at royal residences — Prince Andrew’s 60th birthday party at Royal Lodge key among them.