LONDON: Revelations that a suspected Chinese spy became a confidant of Britain’s Prince Andrew have renewed scrutiny of King Charles III’s disgraced brother as he heaps new embarrassment on the royal family.
The late Queen Elizabeth II’s second, and reportedly favourite, son featured on the front pages of UK newspapers for a third straight day on Sunday (Dec 15) over his links to the unnamed Chinese businessman.
It is the latest humiliation for the 64-year-old whose reputation is already in tatters after settling a US sexual assault case and his friendship with accused child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew withdrew from frontline royal duties in late 2019 after public outrage over a disastrous television interview in which he denied the assault allegations and defended his relationship with Epstein.
Queen Elizabeth II later stripped Andrew of his honorary military titles and patronages, effectively shutting him out of royal life, after he settled the US civil claim without admitting liability.
The latest scandal erupted on Thursday after judges upheld a government ban on the businessman, identified only as H6, from entering Britain.
The tribunal heard that the prince’s aide told the suspected spy that he could help in potential dealings with Chinese investors. H6 also received an invitation to Andrew’s birthday party.
The judges said the prince’s troubles had left him “vulnerable” to exploitation, raising questions about Andrew’s role as a non-working royal.
Charles reportedly cut off his younger brother’s funding earlier this year, while UK newspapers say he wants to move Andrew out of his current home and into a smaller one.
Writing in the Sunday Times, royal expert Craig Prescott at Royal Holloway University of London said “money remains an issue for Andrew” and his “only obvious source of income is his Royal Navy pension”.
The broadsheet, quoting unnamed sources, reported that the prince, also known as the Duke of York, was even considering moving to the Gulf permanently.
Andrew’s only comments came on Friday when he said he had “followed advice” from the government and “ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised”.
“The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed,” his office said in a statement.
The story looks set to rumble on, however, amid fears about China’s apparent ability to infiltrate the British establishment.
“CLEAR AND HONEST”
The Sunday Times reported that H6 had also met former Conservative prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said Andrew needs to be “clear and honest” over H6 and called for a “full, proper investigation” by the security services.
Lawmaker Nigel Farage says his party could use parliamentary privilege to name the individual, whose identity is protected by a court order, in the House of Commons.
Andrew’s predicament is a remarkable fall from grace for the once-popular royal, who was hailed a hero when he flew as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War.
As a young man, he was seen as one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and even dubbed “Randy Andy” by the tabloid press before marrying Sarah Ferguson in 1986.
He left the navy in 2001 and became a special government trade envoy, earning a new nickname, “Air Miles Andy”, as he jetted around the world at taxpayers’ expense.
Questions were asked about his judgement after links to the families of various dictators, and he faced repeated claims of being brash, arrogant and rude.
After Andrew’s divorce from his wife in 1996, he was photographed sunbathing with topless women in Thailand and at a so-called “hookers and pimps” party with now-jailed socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was through Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking by a New York court in 2021, that Andrew met Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, who claimed the prince sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
Andrew has always denied the allegations.
A Sunday Times headline Sunday said the prince had become “the worst kind of distraction” for King Charles, while the Guardian has said his downfall “never seems to end”.