Andrew’s Chinese ‘spy’ scandal threatens to bring down Royal Family – it’s more damaging than Epstein, says biographer

PRINCE Andrew's Chinese "spy" scandal threatens to bring down the royal family and is more damaging that his Epstein links, a biographer says.

A suspected Chinese spy who was Andrew's "close confidant" was unmasked for the first time last week.

Yang Tengbo was even invited to Andrew's birthday party in 2020 and supported him through his recent scandals.

Andrew won't be joining the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas amid the fallout from the scandal.

The prince's biographer Andrew Lownie told The Sun's Royal Exclusive show: "It's probably the most damaging of Andrew's scandals.

"It's more damaging than Epstein. I think the story is going to run right through next year.

"He's always been much more vulnerable to the financial scandals in his life than the sexual ones.

"These stories haven't really been investigated. It's going to have to lead to greater transparency about royal finances.

"This has unlocked a whole series of events that I think are going to be very damaging to the monarchy.

"This is going to give fresh impetus to journalists to look into his financial affairs and how he affords to live in Royal Lodge.

"A lot more is still to come out. A lot has already come out in the past week about his activities.

"It's the tip of the iceberg. He's been scrounging money off people in the Middle East and Central Asia.

"When those stories come out, I think he's going to be complete toast.

"The danger is that he's going to bring the royal family down with him."

The Sun exclusively revealed insiders had urged Andrew to "uninvite himself" from the royal family's pre-festive lunch today.

He was due to attend the lunch at the palace but a source said: “He is under pressure to step away.”

It comes just days after the Duke of York said he won't be joining the Royal Family at Sandringham for the usual celebrations on Christmas Day.

It is understood his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, has also dropped out from the Norfolk festivities.

The pair are said to be staying at Royal Lodge, in Windsor, for the period instead.

'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH'

Both Andrew and Fergie's daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, had already chosen to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws.

It comes as a suspected Chinese spy who was friends with Andrew has been unmasked for the first time.

An insider said it's hard to see the duke out in "public with the royals ever again".

They said: "I find it hard to imagine he will ever join them again in public, if I’m honest.

"There’s only so many times the duke can be asked to keep his head down and wait for the storm to pass. Enough is enough."

Yang Tengbo, 50 - who is understood to have been a "close confidante" of the Duke of York - can be named after a court anonymity ban was lifted this afternoon.

During a tribunal hearing, judges concluded Yang had not been honest about his links to the Chinese state and could exploit his relationship with the duke and other public figures.

The former chairman of Hampton Group had been in the country for two decades.

Photos show him posing alongside ex-Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, as well as the royal.

He was even invited to Andrew's birthday party in 2020 and supported him through his recent scandals.

But the suspected spy subsequently lost an appeal against a decision to ban him from the UK on national security grounds.

He was stopped by counter-terrorism services in 2021 and ordered to surrender his devices.

Court documents said Yang had split his time between China and the UK and told officials he considered this country his second home.

In February last year, he was “off-boarded” from a flight from Beijing to London and told the home secretary was in the process of examining the case to exclude him from the UK.

That order was made the following month, with his appeal against the decision rejected last week by a special immigration appeals tribunal.

Judges concluded Yang had not been honest about his links to the Chinese state and could exploit his relationship with the duke and other public figures.

Guy Vassall-Adams KC, for Yang, told the High Court: "There has been an enormous amount of media reporting in relation to this story, and particularly in relation to the relationship between my client, H6, and Prince Andrew, as well as a huge amount of speculation about the identity of my client."

Yang said he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, adding in a statement that the “widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue”.

It comes after the Sun reported last week a foreign agent knew how to sneak people in and out of the duke's Royal Lodge home.

The shock revelation emerged in a letter from one of the royal's top advisers, Dominic Hampshire, to the spy.

Mr Hampshire continued to work for Andrew even after the note was found by MI5 on the spy’s phone in 2020.

It read: “I hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal (Andrew) and indeed his family.

“You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship.

“You sit at the very top of a tree many people would like to be on.”

It added: “Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor.”

Mr Hampshire also confirmed the man could act for Andrew in talks with Chinese investors.

The note was sent 10 months after the duke withdrew from public life after paying damages to Virginia Roberts-Giuffre, a victim of his US paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein.

A source told The Sun: “Dom was still working for the duke until at least April this year.

“It’s hard to believe, given that Andrew must have known for years that his Chinese links had become a matter of national security.”

A statement from the duke's office on Friday said "nothing of a sensitive nature [was] ever discussed".

The statement added: "The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.

"The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed.

"He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security."

Writing for the Sun, royal expert Phil Dampier said: "By allowing a Chinese spy inside royal residences like Windsor and Buckingham Palace he endangered the security of the whole Royal Family and the institution of the monarchy."