Prince Andrew pulls out of royal family's Christmas Day celebrations at Sandringham amid Chinese 'spy' scandal
Prince Andrew will not join the King and Queen, and the rest of the royal family, for Christmas at Sandringham.
The Duke of York has decided against taking part in the annual event after an associate, Yang Tengbo, was named as the alleged Chinese spy who has been banned from Britain, according to multiple media outlets in the UK.
Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has also pulled out of plans to join the royal family at the Norfolk estate.
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The Duke of York will not spend Christmas Day with the royal family at Sandringham this year. AP
Their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are not expected to be at Sandringham this year either.
However, the princesses were said to have been planning on spending Christmas with their in-laws because they have not done so since they married.
Those plans were said to have been in place a year ago – before the Chinese spy scandal emerged, according to The Telegraph UK.
The Duchess of York, pictured during the walk to morning mass at Sandringham on Christmas Day last year, will also miss the events. Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images
The publication also reports discussions about where Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York would spend the day had been ongoing for some time.
Last year, the duchess joined the royal family for the traditional walk to church on Christmas morning at Sandringham for the first time in 30 years, alongside Prince Andrew.
Prior to that, Fergie, as she is affectionately known, last attended the event in 1991, a year before she split from the Duke of York. On that occasion she was pictured walking behind Diana, Princess of Wales.
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are also expected to spend Christmas away from Sandringham this year. Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images
Before news of Prince Andrew's links to the alleged Chinese spy emerged in court documents late last week, he and the duchess were expected to be joining King Charles and Queen Camilla at Sandringham.
Prince Andrew stepped back from official duties in November 2019 over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, which he refused to apologise for during a controversial interview with BBC's Newsnight.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
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The Duke of York stepped back from public duties in the wake of his interview with Newsnight in 2019. BBC Newsnight
While the duke has not appeared alongside working members of the royal family at official events since then, he would normally join them for private family gatherings, including the Christmas Day walk to church at Sandringham.
On Monday palace insiders told The Times that Prince Andrew should "do the decent thing" and stay away from any public festivities to avoid causing the King any further embarrassment.
It was suggested the onus should be on Prince Andrew to keep a low profile, rather than forcing the King to decide on whether to include his brother in the events.
The King and Queen will lead members of the royal family at Sandringham on December 25. Samir Hussein/WireImage
Sources told The Times Prince Andrew should "recognise his residual duty to the crown" by withdrawing from any public appearance alongside the family, including the walk to church on Christmas Day and a Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace this week.
The duke has been invited to join about 70 members of the wider royal family at Buckingham Palace for the traditional lunch on Thursday.
Although the lunch is private, arrivals are usually photographed coming through the palace gates.
Sources told The Times the duke has been advised to stay away or, at the very least, make a discreet arrival and departure, away from the cameras through a side door.
The Christmas lunch will be held at Buckingham Palace this year, in a return to tradition.
In the past two years it was hosted by the King at Windsor Castle. But the lunch will take place inside Buckingham Palace on Thursday, as it was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
However, the Christmas lunch could return to Windsor Castle next year as Buckingham Palace undergoes a major revamp.
The palace, which remains the official home of King Charles in the capital, is nearing the end of a 10-year £369m refurbishment (approx. $714 million).
Several of the palace's main rooms will close in 2025. State visits, which are usually held at Buckingham Palace, will move to Windsor Castle until 2027 when the refurbishment is expected to be complete.
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