The King has been dragged into the Chinese spy row engulfing Prince Andrew after bombshell court documents suggested he was briefed about an investment fund involving the alleged agent.
Dominic Hampshire, a former senior aide to the Duke of York, revealed he and the disgraced royal had secretive meetings with His Majesty where they discussed the scheme linked to Yang Tengbo.
His witness statement in support of Yang and other documents were disclosed on Friday after several media outlets pushed for them to be released by the courts.
Mr Tengbo, who was formerly referred to as H6 in legal papers, was banned from the UK in 2023 on national security grounds amid allegations he was spying for the Chinese Communist Party.
But a witness statement made by Mr Hampshire, a former Army captain and equerry to the Duke of Kent, in support of Yang said he and Andrew held two conversations with Charles in Windsor Castle between December 2023 and May last year.
The three allegedly discussed “what the Duke can do moving forwards in a way that is acceptable to His Majesty” after his business opportunities dried up following disclosures about his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Part of their discussions revolved around a proposal linked to Yang called the ‘Eurasia Fund’, which involved Chinese investment in African renewable energy projects.
There is no suggestion the King was aware of any security concerns relating to Yang, nor did he or his advisers give approval to the plan.
Mr Hampshire penned his support for Yang last May after the Chinese entrepreneur appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission over the decision to bar him from Britain.
His statement also revealed that Andrew continues to send letters to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his birthday every year and that this was allegedly “encouraged” by Buckingham Palace.
Yang, who went by the name “Chris” in private, was also invited to Andrew's 60th birthday party at Royal Lodge and was integral in launching the Duke’s Dragon’s Den-style investment platform Pitch@Palace.
Previous documents showed Mr Hampshire had thanked Yang for supporting Andrew following his car-crash Newsnight interview in 2019 over his relationship with Epstein and allegations of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was 17.
Despite vehemently denying the allegations, the Duke paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Ms Giuffre — a woman he claimed never to have met — in 2022.
The scandal forced the royal family to remove Andrew's military titles and royal patronages. He stepped down from public life in 2020 following the Newsnight interview.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “While His Majesty met with the Duke and his adviser to hear outline proposals for independent funding, the individual known as H6 was not mentioned at any time.”
Mr Hampshire said of his statement: “The desire to keep my witness statement out of the media was solely to protect the confidential interactions I had with Buckingham Palace and the intelligence services.
“At all times I sought to protect the best interests of the Royal Family with integrity and loyalty.
“For the record, as soon as The Duke of York was advised to cease all contact with Mr Yang, he fully complied. He did not receive a penny in funding or support, directly or indirectly, from any Chinese individual or entity.
“I am now a private businessman and none of my business interests are connected to any member of the Royal Family.”
