The UK has identified Yang Tengbo, a Chinese national previously known only as “H6,” as the alleged spy with links to Prince Andrew. The revelation comes after an anonymity order was lifted on Monday. Yang, who had been banned from entering the UK in July 2023, has been at the center of controversy due to his association with Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles. A former UK security minister described it as “extremely embarrassing” that Yang, a suspected Chinese spy, had become a confidant of the disgraced royal.
Yang, also known as Chris Yang, was born on March 21, 1974. He studied in China and worked as a junior civil servant before moving to the UK in 2002, where he spent a year studying English. He later earned a master’s degree in Public Administration and Public Policy from the University of York. Since 2005, Yang had been dividing his time between the UK and China. In 2013, he was granted “indefinite leave” to remain in the UK and became a director of Hampton Group International, a business consultancy aimed at strengthening ties between China and the world.
Yang was also involved in Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace initiative, which supports entrepreneurs, though he was found to have falsely represented his relationship with the royal. His legal troubles began in November 2021, when he was required to surrender his digital devices. In February 2023, he was removed from a London-to-Beijing flight, and by July of the same year, the UK Home Office imposed a ban on him, accusing him of engaging in “covert and deceptive activities” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.