Andrew and Fergie pull out of Christmas with Royal Family amid ‘Chinese spy’ controversy
Prince Andrew has pulled out of spending Christmas with the Royal Family amid the “Chinese spy” controversy, it has been claimed.
The Duke of York has agreed not to embarrass the King further and has voluntarily decided, along with his wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, to give the annual celebrations in Norfolk a miss.
It is believed the couple are likely to remain at Royal Lodge, according to claims in The Mail.
In addition, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are understood to have made the decision to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws, having not had the chance to do so for several years.
Beatrice is married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and the couple share a three-year-old daughter named Sienna.
Meanwhile, Princess Eugenie is married to Jack Brooksbank, and the couple share two sons, August, three, and Ernest, one.
It is understood that King Charles did not want to ban his brother from attending the festivities at Sandringham.
However, he hoped Andrew might “do the decent thing” and decide to stay away in light of the growing spy scandal.
Sarah Ferguson, 65, made the decision to join Prince Andrew at Sandringham in 2023 for the first time in over three decades.
The last time the Duchess of York spent the festive season in Norfolk was in 1991, when she was still a working royal.
Andrew and Sarah divorced in 1996 but continue to share a close relationship, even cohabitating together at Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Their children, Beatrice, 36, and Eugenie, 34, are not working royals, but have spent every Christmas with the Royal Family since their childhood, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who forged links with the Duke of York and mixed with other British establishment figures, insisted he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”.
Yang said it was “entirely untrue” to claim he was involved in espionage and said he was a victim of a “political climate” which had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China.
Businessman Yang became a “close” confidant of the Duke of York and has also been pictured with senior politicians including Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May.
