King Charles is ‘very grateful’ to Sarah Ferguson for persuading Prince Andrew to skip the royal Christmas celebrations, a source has claimed.
The king’s brother has found himself at the centre of another scandal over his links to alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo. The Duke and Duchess of York announced they will not be attending the Royal Family’s Christmas celebrations, as well as a lunch for the wider family at Buckingham Palace.
Andrew and his ex-wife are now expected to spend the festive period at the Royal Lodge in Windsor after it had been feared the latest headlines surrounding Andrew would have brought unwanted attention on the celebrations.
A palace source told the Times: “I know that the King is very grateful to the duchess for her assistance.”
It is thought Sarah Ferguson is responsible for Andrew swerving the royal festive events. In the wake of the fresh revelations, the duke faced calls to withdraw from the Buckingham Palace lunch taking place today (Thursday, December 19) while also avoiding making an appearance at the traditional royal family Christmas at Sandringham.
Sarah made her return to the royal fold last December when she joined the Royal Family on their annual Christmas Day walkabout her the first time in 30 years. It was a significant moment after her divorce from Andrew in 1996.
The couple’s daughters – Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34 – are expected to spend Christmas with their spouses’ families.
Last week court documents exposed Andrew’s links to the alleged Chinese spy. Yang Tengbo, 50, had been banned from the UK by the Home Office on national security grounds.
The duchess reportedly played a key role as an intermediary between King Charles and his brother. Palace insiders had hoped that Charles, who is apparently not fond of confrontation, would not be put in the awkward position of having to ban Andrew from royal Christmas events over the latest storm.
The king was informed of his brother’s connections to the alleged spy through ‘the appropriate channels’. The briefing reportedly set off alarm bells at the Palace.
When the spy scandal broke, Andrew’s office issued a statement making it clear he had ‘ceased all contact’ with Tengbo.
The man at the centre of the storm denied spying for China as he said: “I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.”
Andrew stopped being a working royal in 2020 after public outrage over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He no longer receives public money and in September was cut off financially by his brother.
In recent months Charles and Andrew have been embroiled in a row over Andrew’s tenancy of the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
