King Charles' brother, embroiled in a spy scandal, will not attend Christmas celebrations with the rest of the royal family at Sandringham this year.
No family Christmas at Sandringham for Prince Andrew. The younger brother of King Charles will not attend the traditional end-of-year celebrations, British media reported on Monday.
Already an outcast within the royal family for his closeness to the late financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, brother of Charles III, is at the heart of an embarrassing new scandal for his links with a man suspected of spying for China.
The Duke of York, 64, long described as the favorite son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has been in the headlines of the British media for three days, with the Sunday Times deeming that he has become “the worst distraction” for King Charles III.
“Confident” d’Andrew
On Thursday, a London court validated the entry ban on the territory of a Chinese national, suspected of being engaged in “secret and deceptive activities” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Described as a “confidant” of Andrew, this 50-year-old man, Tengbo Yang, had been authorized to act on behalf of the prince with potential Chinese investors, and had even been invited to his birthday in 2020.
This 50-year-old man, who was until then identified as “H6” in the media, obtained from the courts on Monday the lifting of his anonymity.
Fall of the prince
“Due to numerous speculations and erroneous information in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity,” said Tengbo Yang, denouncing the procedure he was subjected to as “unfair”.
Prince Andrew no longer has an active role in the royal family, nor patronage, and has been stripped of his military titles. But he continues to take part in certain family events. A series and a film traced his fall, after a disastrous interview given to the BBC, when he was accused by an American woman of having forced her to have sex when she was a minor.
The case concluded with a financial settlement with the plaintiff.
