19 December 2024 , 17:36
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Prince William and Kate Middleton will not attend today’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are spending the day in Norfolk with their children, instead of joining the Royal Family gathering in London, a royal source told PA.
Prince Andrew has already pulled out of the lunch, following revelations that he was linked to an alleged Chinese spy. He has also bailed on Christmas dinner plans.
On Friday, the Duke of York claimed he had ‘ceased all contact’ with Yang Tengbo who MI5 banned from the UK due to a potential security threat.
The prince had twice invited the businessman to Buckingham Palace in 2018, and Yang was the founder-partner of the Chinese branch of his Pitch@Palace initiative.
But he says he has now cut off contact after advice from officials.
A statement from Prince Andrew’s office claims the pair met through ‘official channels’ with ‘nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed’.
Yang, 50, had been under an anonymity order known only as ‘H6’ until he revealed his name publicly to deny the allegations against him.
Also known as Chris Yang, he has penetrated the upper echelons of British society, meeting then-Prime Minister David Cameron at a Downing Street reception, and Theresa May at a black-tie event, in the last 15 years.
He also attended Andrew’s birthday party in 2020.
Three years later, Yang was banned from the UK by then-home secretary Suella Braverman after MI5 became concerned about information found on his phone.
Denying the claims, Yang said he has ‘done nothing wrong or unlawful’, adding that the ‘widespread description of me as a “spy” is entirely untrue’.
In a statement, he said: ‘I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.’