No wonder the royals don't want Andrew and Fergie around for Christmas... Just look at the company the disgraced Duke of York keeps, says ANDREW LOWNIE
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As Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson spend a desultory Christmas alone at the Royal Lodge, while more than 40 members of the Royal Family celebrate 125 miles away in Sandringham, they may well feel a pang of regret over the Duke's associations.
![[Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are perhaps the best known of Andrew's dodgy cohort of friends. Paedophile Epstein, 66, killed himself in prison in 2019 while Maxwell remains locked up at FCI Tallahassee in Florida, while serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/11/93240611-14202357-image-a-8_1734609053126.jpg)
However, the only real surprise is that Andrew's network of shady operators, and indeed convicted criminals, has not seen him excluded from the family festivities until now. The news that a close adviser to Prince Andrew, Yang Tengbo, is allegedly a Chinese spy has again reminded the world of how probably the most naïve and greedy member of the Royal Family has an unfortunate range of friends and business contacts.
![[A selfie taken by Selman Turk alongside Tarek Kaituni during a visit to what appears to be Frogmore House, the royal residence in Windsor Great Park, in February 2020]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/11/93240609-14202357-A_selfie_taken_by_Selman_Turk_alongside_Tarek_Kaituni_during_a_v-m-10_1734609122076.jpg)
Tengbo, who denies the accusations, has known the duke for over a decade, spearheaded the Chinese operations of Pitch@Palace, a Dragons Den initiative to find the entrepreneurs of the future. He was tasked with finding Chinese investors for the Eurasia Fund, a company of the prince’s which was headed by an old friend Dominic Hampshire.
![[Jane Andrews (left), who was the Duchess Of York's dresser for nine years until 1997, was convicted Of murdering businessman Tom Cressman at their home in Fulham, London. Canadian fashion executive Peter Nygard (right) was convicted on four counts of sexual assault in 2023]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/12/93240613-14202357-Jane_Andrews_who_was_the_Duchess_Of_York_s_dresser_for_nine_year-a-40_1734610348251.jpg)
Andrew has long been keen to break into the lucrative Chinese market and during his time as Special Representative for Trade and Investment ( 2001-2011), which was funded by the taxpayer, he built up some useful contacts and used his trips to help various business associates, most notably David Rowland.
![[Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/12/93240619-14202357-Saif_al_Islam_Kadhafi_son_of_Libyan_leader_Moamer_Kadhafi_is_wan-m-31_1734610174414.jpg)
