The damaged reputation of Prince Andrew led to bonds with the Chinese man accused of spying, show documents

By Danica Kirka

London (AP) – The reputation damaged by Prince Andrew and the desperate need for liquidity again provoke headaches for King Charles III after a court published more documents showing Friday how Andrew’s problems led him to have broken with an alleged Chinese spy.

The Special Immigration Appeal Commission released the declaration of the witnesses of Dominic Hampshire, a senior assistant from Andrew who helped organize meetings between the prince and the alleged spy, the Chinese businessman Tengbo Yang. Yang was finally authorized to operate on behalf of Andrew when he was looking for Chinese investors for an initiative called the Eurasia fund.

Andrew, also known as the Duke of York, needed to find other ways to support each other after being forced to give up all the royal tasks following a disastrous interview with the BBC in 2019, Hampshire said in the statement. Andrew gave the interview to respond to concerns about his ties with the pedophile condemned Jeffrey Epstein, but he was returned against him when he did not explain his continuous contact with Epstein or his sympathy for his victims.

“After the interview with Newsnight and in the following months, it was clear that the Duke’s reputation was irreparable,” said Hampshire in a 10-page statement dated May 25, 2024. “It was very clear internally in the royal house that we would have to examine the options for the future of the Duke of the Duke of Royal Tasks,” he added.

Andrew’s vulnerability

The British authorities feared that Andrew’s situation leaves him vulnerable to the manipulation of Yang, who, according to them, worked in the name of the labor department of the United Front, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party which is used to influence foreign entities. Yang denies allegations.

The British government prohibited Yang from entering the country in 2023 as a threat to national security. The Special Immigration Appeal Commission confirmed this decision in December 2024.

Hampshire, who testified on behalf of Yang, said that the king had been informed of Andrew’s initiatives.

“I had two meetings with the Duke and His Majesty to discuss what the Duke can do to go before in an acceptable way for His Majesty,” said Hampshire. “It should also be noted that, among other subjects, the Eurasia fund and (an investor) were discussed during the two occasions with His Majesty.”

Buckingham Palace said on Friday that the king had met Andrew and his advisor to hear “proposals” for independent funding. Yang has never been mentioned.

Andrew, one of the king’s young brothers, was criticized several times for his ties with rich foreigners, which raised that these people were trying to buy access to the royal family.

The Hampshire Declaration was initially maintained private, but the Commission published it after the calls of the press organizations which argued that it was in the public interest.

Hampshire, who left Andrew’s service in 2022, said he had sought to keep his declaration outside the public domain to protect confidential communications with the security services and the Buckingham Palace.

What the Duke says

Andrew previously said that he had accepted the government’s advice and had ceased all contacts with the Chinese national as soon as the concerns had been raised.

“The Duke met the individual by official channels with nothing sensitive nature ever discussed,” said his office in December. “It is unable to comment more on national security issues.”

British intelligence leaders are increasingly concerned about China’s efforts to influence the British government’s policy.

In 2022, the national intelligence service of Great Britain, known as MI5, warned politicians that a British-Chinese lawyer sought to influence deputies for years. A parliamentary researcher was arrested in 2023, suspected of having provided information sensitive to China.

Yang, 51, worked as a junior civil servant in China before coming to the United Kingdom as a student in 2002. He obtained a master’s degree in public administration and public policy at the University of York before creating a company that advises British companies on their operations in China.

He obtained the right to live and work in the United Kingdom for an indefinite period in 2013. Although he did not make Great Britain his permanent home, Yang told the authorities that he had spent one to two weeks a month in the country and considered him his “secondary residence”.

Yang was arrested when he entered the United Kingdom on November 6, 2021 and ordered his mobile phone and other digital devices on which the authorities found a letter from the Hampshire and other documents that highlighted his close relationship with Andrew.

“I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my director and make him his family,” said Hampshire in extracts from the previously published letter. “You should never underestimate the strength of this relationship. Apart from its closest internal confidants, you sit at the top of a tree on which many, many people would like to be.”

In the declaration of witnesses published on Friday, Hampshire characterized these comments as an “artistic license”.

“As is regularly the case in certain communications, there was an important artistic license in” blowing smoke “and caressing his ego to maintain support (from Yang) to the Duke,” said Hampshire.

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Originally published: April 4, 2025 at 1:53 p.m.