Prince Andrew’s involvement with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo is back in the news again after Buckingham Palace released a rare statement regarding The King and his involvement in the matter. The Duke of York, who worked with Tengbo as a business advisor, was already forced to stay home on Christmas due to the fallout from his friendship with the businessman. But on Friday, April 4, King Charles was brought into the scandal after new papers revealed he'd secretly met with Andrew regarding potential business deals.
Tengbo—who was known as "H6" in initial documents before his name was identified— lost a 2024 appeal with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) to stay in the U.K. Per the BBC, a judge claimed the businessman "represented a risk to the national security of the United Kingdom" and had an "unusual degree of trust from a senior member of the Royal Family who was prepared to enter into business activities with him."
Per the Mirror, documents in Tengbo's case were made public on Friday, including a 2024 statement from the Duke of York's former senior advisor, Dominic Hampshire. Mr. Hampshire claimed "he had met twice with Andrew and the King in the previous six months to discuss 'what the duke can do moving forwards in a way that is acceptable to His Majesty.'"
According to the former royal aide, both of the meetings included discussions about "the Eurasia Fund, which Mr Yang described in his written evidence to the tribunal as a way to 'upgrade' the duke's Pitch@Palace initiative 'into an investment-type business, or a fund.'" Pitch@Palace was created by the Duke of York's in a bid to help budding U.K. entrepreneurs, but he was forced to step down from the initiative in 2019 following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview about Jeffrey Epstein.
In the 10-page document, Hampshire said Prince Andrew slipped into the castle to avoid being noticed by the press or public. "For both these meetings with His Majesty, despite less media interest in the duke, we took all precautions to get in and out of Windsor Castle without being seen," he stated.
In response, Buckingham Palace released a statement reading, "While His Majesty met with The Duke and his advisor to hear outline proposals for independent funding over the past year, the individual known as H6 was not mentioned at any time or in any way as part of these discussions."
In December, a source told the Daily Beast that The King's tolerance had reached a breaking point. "His Majesty’s patience is wearing thin," the insider said. "He has stood by Andrew for many years, but everyone has their limits."
