Prince Andrew won't spend Christmas with Royal Family following Chinese 'spy' scandal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Prince Andrew won't join the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas Day after being embroiled in a scandal involving an alleged Chinese spy.The Duke of York has decided to stay away to avoid further embarrassing the King, sources have revealed.

Andrew will instead spend the day with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who still lives with him at his Windsor home, Royal Lodge.The Duke of York’s latest nightmare was exposed when an alleged Chinese spy lost his appeal last week against being barred from the UK, reports the Mirror.The man, identified today as Yang Tengbo and named in court documents as ‘H6’, brought the case after being banned in March 2023 on national security grounds despite having become a close contact of Prince Andrew.The Chinese businessman, who has insisted he has "done nothing wrong or unlawful", visited Buckingham Palace twice and was also allowed to enter St James's Palace and Windsor Castle as a guest of Andrew, 64.

In a statement, Mr Tengbo added that the "widespread description of me as a 'spy' is entirely untrue".And, Mr Yang was invited to Prince Andrew's birthday party in 2020, following being told by royal aide Dominic Hampshire he could act on the duke's behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, a tribunal heard in July this year.Prince Andrew released a statement last week stating he had ceased all contact with the alleged spy after being warned by the security services.

He added: "Nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed." However, the King and other senior royals were said to be 'exasperated' with Andrew for again heaping further shame on the monarchy.