I spy another Prince Andrew disaster. Pity the royals: how could they possibly have seen this coming? | Marina Hyde
![I spy another Prince Andrew disaster. Pity the royals: how could they possibly have seen this coming? | Marina Hyde](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b8d30fcc803c30c485f587b23a7e33fa902808d9/0_12_1174_704/master/1174.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8749dfc220a0e6118340cf20b38af543)
The Duke of York has proven to be a scandal magnet. He is a problem, a royal problem: it’s time they owned it
No matter how much you try to digest the implications of the alleged Chinese spy scandal, some details are just comically indigestible. Take the fact that Prince Andrew has somehow contrived to find staff even stupider than him. Here is one senior aide called Dominic Hampshire, writing in March 2020 to the Chinese businessman with whom the Duke of York has found himself unfortunately entangled: “Outside of [Andrew’s] closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.” Sorry, is this March 2020? A full four months after the four-dimensional pile-up that was Andrew’s Newsnight interview? Which was followed immediately by the duke’s own mother sacking him? Dominic, there were ventilators that people would rather have been on than that tree.
Or take the fact that the rural Buckinghamshire pub where David Cameron took the Chinese premier Xi Jinping for a pint in 2015 was bought by a Chinese firm called SinoFortune, which seems to have promised billions of UK investment that never materialised.
Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...-
Prince Andrew’s ‘opaque’ finances provoke calls for register of royal interests
Claims of refused FOI requests into Duke of York’s business dealings come as controversy over alleged Chinese spy continues . Getting information from government departments about the Duke of ...The Guardian - 6h -
Prince Andrew spy scandal may have further exposed threat posed by China
Royal’s relationship with alleged spy, Yang Tengbo, should be seen as a blessing in disguise, says China analyst. Prince Andrew should be commended for doing Britain a great service according to ...The Guardian - 1d -
Prince Andrew will not join Royal Family for Christmas as alleged Chinese spy named
The duke is expected to withdraw from royal events at Christmas to avoid being a distraction.BBC News - 1d -
Prince Andrew to miss royal family Christmas after links to alleged Chinese spy emerge
Duke of York will not attend traditional Christmas Day gathering at the king’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The Duke of York is to stay away from the royal family’s traditional Christmas ...The Guardian - 1d -
Advice ignored by ministers could have blocked Prince Andrew ‘spy’
Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, tells the Observer he advised Tories to criminalise foreign agents in 2019. Prince Andrew may have been a victim of Chairman Mao’s ‘magic weapon’ ...The Guardian - 3d -
Suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew barred from UK
A suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew has been barred from the U.K. because of concerns he posed a threat to national securityABC News - 4d -
Alleged Chinese spy linked to Prince Andrew excluded from the UK
Immigration hearing rules businessman had ties to prominent Britons that could be ‘leveraged for political interference’Financial Times - 5d -
Memo to the Assads: Putin may welcome you in Moscow, but I wouldn't drink his tea | Marina Hyde
The Russian leader may be a warm and attentive host: he may also be cross that Assad is now his problem. But then life’s full of uncertainty, isn’t it? . It’s fair to say the TV show Schitt’s Creek ...The Guardian - Dec. 10 -
Farewell, then, Justin Welby. Good to see that you have already forgiven yourself | Marina Hyde
The archbishop of Banterbury could have used his speech to express remorse to victims of abuse. But then there wouldn’t have been any room for lolz. I imagine the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury ...The Guardian - Dec. 6
More from The Guardian
-
Russia-Ukraine war live: Moscow says Uzbek suspect arrested over killing of general
The Guardian - 8m -
Kenyan single mothers ‘trapped’ in Saudi Arabia as exit visas denied to children born outside marriage
The Guardian - 5h -
Middle East crisis live: hopes for Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal rise as officials express cautious optimism
The Guardian - 13m -
Andrew and Tristan Tate lose £2m court case over unpaid tax
The Guardian - 17m -
South Korean president fails to appear before corruption watchdog
The Guardian - 2h