Britain’s Prince Andrew speaks with King Charles.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, has become the subject of yet another scandal after an alleged Chinese spy used him to get access to the heart of the British establishment. According to The Guardian, the businessman, identified only as “H6” for legal reasons, had gained unusual level of trust from the senior royal. However, in a rare statement, issued by Andrew’s office, the royal insisted that he “ceased all contact” with the alleged spy after concerns were raised, and that “nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed”.

The Guardian quoted court documents to report that the businessman was so close to the Duke of York, he was authorised to act on his behalf in an international financial initiative with potential partners and investors in China.

A March 2020 letter written to him by Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, was also found in the alleged spy’s phone, which referred to him being invited to the duke’s birthday party. “Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on,” the letter said, as per the outlet.

The BBC said that H6 formed an “unusual degree of trust” with the duke and has since been banned from the UK. The alleged spy even appealed against his ban in 2023, but the decision was upheld by the UK’s national security court.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying they do not act for Prince Andrew, who is not a working royal.

What we know about H6?

As per The Independent, the alleged Chinese spy called the UK his “second home” and had previously been granted indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

He is said to have used his high profile connection to secure invitations to Buckingham Palace and other royal residences, with fresh reports now alleging he also met two former prime ministers, including David Cameron and Theresa May.

H6 was finally expelled from Britain in 2023 when then-home secretary Suella Braverman’s office said he reportedly engaged in “covert and deceptive activity” on behalf of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state apparatus.

Prince Andrew’s controversial past

The disgraced prince has been facing scrutiny since 2019 over his friendship with US financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties in November 2019 and has faced questions about his finances.

Prince Andrew reached a settlement in a civil sexual assault case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers. He has always denied assaulting Ms Giuffre.

Princess Beatrice’s ex-boyfriend was found dead earlier this year in a Miami hotel room following a suspected overdose. The US city’s police department has confirmed the identity of a man who died in the M Miami Worldcenter hotel on February 7 as Paolo Liuzzo, according to TheIndependent. Mr Liuzzo’s death is being investigated as an ”overdose death” according to the police. 

His body was flown back to Long Island, New York, and a funeral took place on February 16. His death certificate says he had been working as an art industry consultant and never married.

Sources said he had struggled with drugs and racked up big gambling debts. A longtime friend of Mr Liuzzo said, ”Paolo was not doing great on a personal level. He loved to party and gamble. He began using a lot of pharmaceutical drugs but that later led to cocaine and harder drugs. It was a very fast lifestyle and we all feared it would catch up with him eventually. He was always borrowing money to pay off loans. It became a vicious cycle.”

He was previously arrested in Australia over a string of offences including possessing cocaine.

The princess, who is the daughter of the disgraced Prince Andrew, started dating Mr Liuzzo in 2005 when she was aged 17 and he was 24. Their relationship came to light when he was invited by Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to join the family on a skiing holiday to Verbier.

However, the couple separated in 2006 after it emerged that he had been forced to return to the US for breaching the conditions of his probation for an assault conviction.

In 2020, Princess Beatrice married the property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a surprise, private ceremony that was scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic. She gave birth to a baby girl, her first child in September 2021.