Andrew will not join the royals for Christmas at Sandringham

The Duke of York will not be joining the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas, royal sources told the BBC.

Prince Andrew is expected to “respectfully withdraw” from all family engagements this year to avoid distraction, she said.

Instead he is expected to be at home in Windsor on Christmas Day.

This comes after the alleged Chinese spy with whom the prince had an affair was named following a High Court ruling.

Yang Tengbo, also known as Chris Yang, was previously known only as H6 due to an anonymity order protecting his identity.

But a judge ruled on Monday that the Chinese businessman could be named.

Mr Yang, who was identified as having an “unusual level of trust” with Prince Andrew court decisionSaid it was “completely false” that he was a spy.

He said he had “done nothing wrong or illegal”.

Mr Yang was invited to the prince’s birthday party in 2020 and was told he could act on the prince’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China.

One of Prince Andrew’s advisers also told him in a letter: “Under your guidance, we have found a way to get the relevant people inside and outside the house at Windsor unnoticed.”

Last week, Britain’s semi-secret national security court upheld a 2023 ban on Mr Yang from entering the country.

Mr Yang went to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) to appeal the decision.

But it decided the sanctions should remain in place because of suspicions that he was involved in an “elite capture” operation – a strategy by the Chinese state to increase influence in Western countries.

Prince Andrew previously said in a statement that he had “ceased all contact” with the Chinese businessman, adding that all meetings had taken place “through official channels” and that “nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed”.