Prince Andrew Could ‘Do a Harry’ and Flee the U.K.
The Daily Beast can reveal that Prince Andrew is eyeing a move to Bahrain and could “do a Harry” and leave the country after being effectively kicked out of the royal family all over again due to his links to an alleged Chinese spy.
It was revealed on Monday that the disgraced prince was being excluded from Christmas celebrations at King Charles’ grand country estate, Sandringham. The development comes just a year after a dramatic rehabilitation that saw him and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, with whom he still lives, invited to join the royal family’s public walk to church and festive photocall for the first time in decades.
Some reports in the British media have claimed that Andrew decided voluntarily not to attend this year’s family Christmas celebrations, but there is little doubt he would have been ordered not to come had he not recused himself. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Andrew is now likely to spend the day effectively in hiding at his home, Royal Lodge, where the former helicopter pilot has taken to projecting flight tracking apps on the walls. His ex-wife and children are also reportedly not attending Sandringham festivities so they may join him. Sarah likened herself in an interview this weekend as a “carer” to Andrew, whom she described, sympathetically, as a “sad man.”
However, it could be Andrew’s last Christmas in the U.K. The Daily Beast has been told by two friends of Andrew, who claim that he has been unfairly portrayed in the unfolding spying scandal, that he is now “sick and tired of being painted as a pariah” and is “seriously contemplating a move to the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain.”
He has wealthy if sometimes dubious supporters in both jurisdictions, but especially in the autocratic monarchy of Bahrain, where he has been a regular visitor for decades and has been feted by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, moved to the UAE in 2020 after he was accused of corruptly enriching himself when he was king.
One friend of Andrew’s who has known him and his wife for decades told The Daily Beast: “The whole thing stinks to high heaven. You’d think Andrew had been passing state secrets to the man. Andrew is sick and tired of being painted as a pariah in the British media and is seriously contemplating a move to the United Arab Emirates of Bahrain.
“None of us would blame him if he decided to do a Harry and leave. He can’t do anything here anymore, he can’t leave the house, he can’t do any business, and now he is apparently Kim Philby.”
Another friend said: “Andrew has a vast array of contacts in the Middle East and could be leading a meaningful life there. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he thought enough was enough after this latest stich-up by the establishment.”
When asked if they were suggesting Andrew’s relationship with the alleged spy—named on Monday as Yang Tengbo—had been misrepresented by the security services to harm Andrew’s reputation, the friend said: “Andrew doesn’t have any power. He was entirely open about Yang’s involvement with Pitch@Palace. This guy was meeting prime ministers and god knows who else. And yet mysteriously it’s his relationship with Andrew that matters? Come on.”
Andrew’s relationship with Yang emerged after the alleged spy was stopped at an airport under counterterrorism powers in November 2021.
Officers seized his phone, which contained detailed information about their relationship. In one message, Dominic Hampshire, an adviser to the duke, told Yang: “I hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family. You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship… 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 hinted at internal subterfuge in Andrew’s camp, saying they had “wisely navigated our way around former private secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove those people who we don’t completely trust… Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor.”
Andrew was previously expelled from the royal family after his disastrous BBC interview in which he failed to express any regret for his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Daily Beast was told by a friend of the king this weekend, “His Majesty’s patience is wearing thin. He has stood by Andrew for many years, but everyone has their limits. I can’t see the king wanting to walk to church with someone who was friends with a Chinese spy.”
