Prince Andrew is not going to be a part of the royal household at Sandringham on Christmas Day, sparing the Windsors additional embarrassment amid allegations he was shut mates with an alleged Chinese language spy.

The Duke of York is on the centre of contemporary controversy after Yang Tengbo, one among his former confidants, was barred from the UK for “covert and misleading exercise”.

The Chinese language businessman, named on Monday after a choose lifted a courtroom order, is alleged to have leveraged his friendship with Andrew to realize entry to Buckingham Palace and safe conferences with former prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa Could.

Within the wake of the revelations, the duke had confronted calls to withdraw from a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday and to keep away from showing with the royal household at Sandringham subsequent week.

It’s understood that his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, satisfied the duke to step away from the celebrations, giving up her personal likelihood to return to Sandringham for Christmas once more having spent a few years spent out of the royal fold.

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She is believed to have come to the royal household’s rescue after King Charles and Queen Camilla privately urged Andrew to “see sense” and withdraw from subsequent week’s public gathering, because the spy controversy continues to escalate.

The choice for the pair to remain put on the Royal Lodge is assumed to have been made simpler by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s plans to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws this 12 months for the primary time.

Fergie made return to the royal fold final December, becoming a member of the household for his or her annual Christmas Day walkabout for the primary time in 30 years – a big second after her high-profile divorce from Andrew in 1996.

Her attendance marked a departure from a long time of exclusion following the notorious 1992 “toe-sucking” furore, which led Prince Philip to bar Beatrice and Eugenie’s mom from the royal event.

However final 12 months, Charles softened his stance, inviting the Duchess to affix the household at Sandringham for the primary time in a long time, although she didn’t accompany them to church.

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The duke, in the meantime, has been drawn into courtroom proceedings surrounding the alleged spy, whose attraction in opposition to exclusion from the UK was dismissed by a specialist tribunal final Thursday.

Yang, a director of a Chinese language funding consultancy agency, was barred from Britain in 2023 after authorities deemed he posed a probable menace to nationwide safety.

At a listening to in July, the tribunal was instructed that an adviser to Prince Andrew claimed he might act on the Duke’s behalf when partaking with potential buyers in China. Yang, who was reportedly invited to the Duke’s celebration in 2020, denied any wrongdoing, stating: “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is completely unfaithful.”

The case solely turned public after Yang challenged his exclusion on the Particular Immigration Appeals Fee.

On Friday, a press release from the Duke’s workplace mentioned: “The Duke of York adopted recommendation from His Majesty’s Authorities and ceased all contact with the person after considerations had been raised. The Duke met the person by means of official channels with nothing of a delicate nature ever mentioned. He’s unable to remark additional on issues referring to nationwide safety.”

Buckingham Palace declined to remark.