The Duke of York “always had a communication channel” with the Chinese leader and Andrew would send him birthday letters, a tribunal heard.
Andrew’s former senior adviser Dominic Hampshire said the royal household, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, were “fully aware” of the duke’s communication with President Xi Jinping and may have even encouraged it.
His witness statement was disclosed to the media on Friday after being used in the Special Immigration Appeals Commission case related to Yang Tengbo, who Mr Hampshire referred to as Chris.
Mr Hampshire said: “The duke has always had a communication channel with the president, largely to support the success of Pitch@Palace in China, and this was never hidden.
“As is my job, I would draft these letters with the help of those, in this instance Chris, that understood how messages need to be conveyed due to cultural differences. At no time did I have any concerns of the contents.”
Mr Hampshire said that Andrew would send a letter to Xi Jinping for his birthday each year.
He continued: “The royal household, including the late Queen, were fully aware of this communication – it was certainly accepted, and it may be fair to say that perhaps, even encouraged – it was an open channel of communication that was useful to have.
“It was not a channel that was hidden from the royal household.”
He added: “Importantly, it was also a channel that pre-existed the duke’s relationship with Chris and me, with the duke hosting the president during his state visit to the UK in 2015.”
Mr Hampshire also said that he believes that Andrew “must surely be a valuable communication point with China”.
He added: “Whilst I think China would prefer a different royal, the reality is, to this day, that if the UK government or the palace said that someone needs to see the Chinese president and talk to him, I think the duke would be able to do that, whereas I don’t think anyone else could do so as simply.”
