Prince Andrew met Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang and Middle East investment firm Waterberg Stirling at Windsor’s Royal Lodge days before documents revealed ties to ‘Chinese spy’ Yang Tengbo

Prince Andrew hosted the Chinese ambassador at his royal mansion days before his ‘spy’ scandal came out, it has been revealed.

The disgraced royal invited Zheng Zeguang to Windsor’s Royal Lodge on December 9 to meet with Middle East investment firm Waterberg-Stirling. He was pictured that same day driving home from Windsor Castle after an earlier-than-typical morning horse ride. The meeting came three days before the 64-year-old Duke was named in court papers as having links to Yang Tengbo – an accused Chinese spy.

The 50-year-old businessman is banned from the UK after accusations of spying – allegations he has denied. Mr Yang and the Duke are said to have developed an “unusual degree of trust”, while the Chinese national also reportedly developed close relationships with politicians which could have been used as “leverage” by the Chinese government. His relationship with the Duke had been known about privately since last summer.

Zheng Zeguang (left), Ambassador from the People’s Republic of China, met in December with Prince Andrew ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
Pictures of the two men meanwhile are still showing on Buckingham Palace’s official Facebook page. Days before the public revelation, The Sun reports Andrew, who stepped away from official duties in 2019 after his disastrous Newsnight interview over his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, facilitated a meeting between current ambassador Mr Zheng and Waterberg Stirling’s Oleg Firer.

The firm has links to China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, building infrastructure in developing countries such as Laos in South East Asia ‘to win influence’. Soviet-born Vice Chair Firer meanwhile was once Grenada’s ambassador to Russia and was banned from entering the Caribbean nation in 2023 on security grounds.

Besides its simple website offering basic information, little is known about Waterberg Stirling other than it having been described as a “key stakeholder” in Dutch firm Startupbootcamp which is in negotiations to exploit Andrew’s contacts from his former Pitch@Palace scheme – a Dragon’s Den style initiative he stepped back from following the Newsnight scandal.

The meeting was held at Royal Lodge in Windsor, which the King has been urging Andrew to downsize from ( 
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N.C)
The King is said to be “exasperated” by the latest scandal over his brother’s business dealings. A royal source told the Mirror: “It seems that every single time he is leaving him to sort out his own affairs, another matter of concern is raised. The King has been incredibly patient. Assurances were given to the Crown Estate from the Duke over the finances available for vital repairs on his Royal Lodge home but if there are concerns over the source of such income then the onus will be on the Duke to explain in full without delay.

“There is always an intense worry over what else may develop from the Duke’s private life given recent history and seeing as these latest allegations have emerged in less than a week, the Duke should be prepared to give a full explanation as to what is actually going on.”