EXCLUSIVE: Why Prince Andrew Was Deemed One of Britain's Top Security Threats By Intelligence Agents
Prince Andrew was looked as as a major security risk.
Oct. 21 2025, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Prince Andrew was branded a potential national security risk by Britain's intelligence services after forging close links with alleged Chinese spies, sparking alarm at the highest levels of government, senior sources have told RadarOnline.com.
Concerns about the 65-year-old royal's relationships with individuals suspected of working for Beijing were first raised in 2021, according to multiple government insiders. The warnings, which reached Cabinet ministers, centered on Andrew's repeated meetings with businessman Yang Tengbo – later barred from entering the UK for what officials described as "covert and deceptive activity" on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Secret Meetings and Chinese Business Links
Officials feared Andrew’s ties to Cai Qi could expose him to foreign influence.
"There were real alarms going off back then," said one senior intelligence source. "This went beyond bad judgment – it was about exposure and vulnerability. When a senior royal starts engaging with individuals tied to hostile states, it sets off every warning signal imaginable."
Andrew met Yang several times between 2019 and 2021 through his now-defunct charity initiative Pitch@Palace, which sought to connect entrepreneurs with investors. Yang, who ran a consultancy called Hampton Group International, was instrumental in helping the Prince set up a Chinese branch of the project.
The pair were photographed together at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and in Beijing, where Andrew had also held meetings with Cai Qi – now one of China's most powerful Communist Party figures. Officials at the Home Office and the Foreign Office reportedly grew increasingly uneasy about the Prince's activities, especially after Yang was detained at the UK border in 2021 and his mobile phone seized.
According to court documents, one file found on the device, titled "main talking points," described Andrew as being in a "desperate situation and will grab on to anything."
Growing Fears of Foreign Influence
Andrew faced security warnings over meetings with Chinese figures.
Another senior source claimed: "The issue wasn't that Andrew was directly breaking rules – it was that he was wide open to influence. Given everything else surrounding him, that kind of vulnerability made him a serious concern for national security."
The situation worsened after Yang's appeal against his 2023 travel ban failed, with judges agreeing that the disgraced royal "could have been made vulnerable" through his association with him. Yang has consistently denied any involvement in espionage.
Andrew's office said at the time, "nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed," and that he had severed contact with Yang once the government raised concerns. But intelligence officials reportedly viewed the issue as part of a pattern – a royal acting independently and without oversight, despite repeated warnings.
Warnings Ignored by the Palace
King Charles reportedly confronted Andrew over his dealings with Cai Qi-linked circles.
"The intelligence agencies had raised concerns long before the Epstein scandal exploded," said another source familiar with the situation. "They were focused on access – the people he was seeing, the settings, and the reasons behind it. It seemed like he didn't fully understand how dangerous that could be."
King Charles, 76, is understood to have confronted his younger brother earlier this year, telling him the latest revelations about both Jeffrey Epstein and his Chinese links represented a "tipping point." Shortly after, Andrew relinquished his Duke of York title, his knighthood, and several other honors, though he still legally retains his dukedom.
Parliament is now under pressure to pass legislation to strip him of it entirely. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it is "actively looking into" separate claims Andrew instructed his police bodyguard to find compromising information on Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexual abuse.
A Palace in Damage Control
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Palace sources insisted nothing sensitive was discussed with Cai Qi or Chinese contacts.
A Buckingham Palace source described the allegations as "of very serious and grave concern" that should be "examined in the appropriate way."
For the Palace, the warnings from intelligence agencies have cast a long shadow. "It's almost unprecedented for a royal to be seen as a potential security risk," said a former senior civil servant. "But that's precisely what happened with Andrew – and it pushed the Palace into full-scale damage control."
