Prince Andrew will NOT join Royal Family for Christmas after Chinese ‘spy’ scandal

Prince Andrew will not join the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas after being embroiled in a scandal involving an alleged Chinese spy.

The Duke of York has decided to stay away from the festivities to avoid further embarrassing the King, sources have disclosed. Andrew will instead spend the Christmas 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 after an alleged Chinese spy lost his appeal last week against being barred from the UK.

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 the Duke.

The Chinese businessman, who has insisted he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, visited Buckingham Palace twice and also entered 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”.

Mr Yang was also invited to Prince Andrew’s birthday party in 2020, and was 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. The Duke on Friday released a statement 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’ for Andrew heaping further shame on the monarchy. Royal sources confirmed Andrew had “done the right thing” by stepping away from the Christmas gathering. The Duke will also step away from the annual Buckingham Palace Christmas lunch held by the monarch for extended family, which is due to take place on Thursday, it is understood.