London
Cnn
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Prince Andrew’s bonds with an alleged Chinese spy were detailed in documents published on Friday by British courts, which included a declaration of a former collaborator close to the prince about the Duke’s communication line to Chinese President XI Jinping.
The 10 -page declaration of Dominique Hampshire in May 2024 was part of a slice of documents published by the courts following a request from many British media organizations concerning Prince Andrew’s relationship with the presumed spy, Yang Tengbo. The documents are part of the call by Yang of his exclusion from the United Kingdom in December, which he lost.
Yang would have established a close relationship with the prince and was the co-founder of Pitch @ palace China, who widened the Duke’s Pitch @ palace initiative in China.
During a court hearing in December which confirmed the previous decision to ban Yang from the United Kingdom, it was revealed that Yang was authorized to act on behalf of Prince Andrew during commercial meetings with potential Chinese investors in the United Kingdom.
Former interior secretary, Suella Braverman, told Parliament in December that she had made the decision to ban Yang from the United Kingdom “because his presence threatened our national security” and was “based on MI5 advice”, the internal security agency of the United Kingdom.
Yang denied any reprehensible act.
The Hampshire also declared that Yang had helped Prince Andrew to postpone letters to Xi to discuss the Eurasia fund, which Yang had described in his written evidence in court as a means of “upgrading” the Duke’s Pitch @ palace initiative “in an investment type company, or a fund”. He was also responsible for talking to “people concerned” in China, according to the British news agency PA.
“The royal house, including the end of the queen, was fully aware of this communication – it was certainly accepted and it can be fair to say that it was even encouraged – it was an open communication channel that was useful to have,” said Hampshire in the press release.
Hampshire said he had met twice with Prince Andrew and King Charles in the six months before making his witness declaration to discuss “what the Duke can do before in an acceptable way for His Majesty”. These discussions included the discussion of the Eurasia fund, according to the AP.
Buckingham Palace said on Friday that King Charles had met Prince Andrew with Hampshire in the past year to discuss independent funding proposals, but Yang has never been mentioned.
The relationship between the prince and the yang occurred shortly after the Duke’s disastrous interview on his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who, according to Hampshire
“It was a common feeling in the royal house, despite what the Duke thought of happening. He was very clear internally in the royal house that we had to examine the options for the future of the duke far from royal duties,” said Hampshire in his witness declaration, according to the British news agency PA.
According to PA, the Hampshire also said that he had never seen a “red flag” with Yang (who was also called Chris), and stressed that Yang “categorically does not have a close relationship with the Duke”.
“Chris, of course, does not have the Duke’s phone number or his email address and does not have the opportunity to speak directly to the Duke alone-it is a normal practice and Chris’s relationship with the Duke is the same as many others,” he said, according to PA.
He also said that Andrew had “fully respected” advice to end all contact with Yang.
Hampshire declared Friday in a separate declaration that he had left the royal house in 2022 and no longer provided advice to Andrew, according to the AP.