A certain royal Duke has been, allegedly, receiving payments from China. Poss from the Chinese government.
OK.
And the fuss is?
Does anyone think this specific royal Duke is allowed near anything important here? And so knows or influences anything important here? There’s also the point that foreign taxpoayers supporting him means domestic don’t have to…..
Troughing scumbag. Stupid, arrogant troughing scumbag.
Not to mention, the CCP obviously saw some benefit to it. That’s the totalitarian, murdering, imprisoning, aborting CCP, and a member of our so-called ‘Royal’ family took their cash. That ought to be enough for anyone to get it.
There’s also the point that foreign taxpoayers supporting him means domestic don’t have to…..
Eh? Do you think his remuneration, however he comes by his unworked-for gains, was defrayed by the amount the Chinese gave him?
Next thing you know we’ll find out he had been using his influence to lobby for the government to change its rules allowing his mates overseas company to join the Covid Corporate Financing Facility scheme.
No coming back from that one.
Must admit I’m damned if I know how much influence Andy’d have in the UK.
Perhaps the ruling was designed to try and stop him making a fool of himself??
“There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money.”
(Dr. Johnson)
Think what else said royal duke might otherwise be getting up to.
Well, he could probably spill the beans on the 1982-vintage Sea King helicopter. Might be worth a few bob.
He really has no judgment at all, has he?
Norman,
if you’re talking about the SEA KING-to-CHILE INCIDENT he was from from it and just doing ferry services. That’s not to belittle what he did, those guys were under severe pressure and threat from the Argentinians, but the SAS had their own special forces trained pilots and everything they did was kept as far from anyone as possible. Very, very, strict need-to-know.
The rumour on Fearless when we were on our way back, some of the SAS had been on her on the way down, was they stripped so much off that Sea King just to get it there and there was never any intention to get it back.
BiND
No, just in general, like where the starter button is. He was a SAR pilot. He’d have had no knowledge of the SF stuff, or even the Searchwater radar. He might have been dim and lacking in judgement but those around him weren’t.
I’m not surprised the Chilean Sea King trip was planned to be one-way. One helicopter is not a high price to pay for disabling a bunch of strike jets and control radar threatening your Task Force and it’s obviously assumed that wherever your SF go they can look after themselves. The South Georgia glacier incident was clearly unusual.
“the CCP obviously saw some benefit to it”
That’s the key. Unlike Western governments (see Afghan “translators”) the Chinese aren’t known for paying foreigners for no benefit.
>Does anyone think this specific royal Duke is allowed near anything important here? And so knows or influences anything important here?
That’s a bit of a pickle then. If he isn’t and doesn’t – why is he a Duke? Cut him loose and give the title to someone who can and is.
Also, the Chinese don’t support foreign nobility out of the goodness of their hearts. If they’re giving him money they expect to get something in return – the question is ‘what are they going to get?’
He seems to be turning into something of a scapegoat, someone they can throw to the press to hide or shield the more important people from the limelight. He was a useful distraction for the Epstein crew whose to say he’s not in the same position again
The spy (if such he was) probably reported back to his handler that he had an in to the UK equivalent of Xi’s brother. “Great, go for it” was doubtless the reply. Neither of them realising Andrew is just a dim, suss, Billy-no-mates.
He might be Billy-no-mates in Royal and associated circles. But I expect there are non-zero people in The Establishment who still think he’s a grand-but-slightly-soiled chap, some of whom might also be useful as agents of influence for the CCP.
The CCP is spell-bound by British royalty and its 1000+ years of history, so subsidising a royal Duke might – mistakenly – seem like a long-term investment. Frankly, I’m more concerned about China’s influence in UK universities.
Andrew is simply another example of the heir-and-spare syndrome (cf Harry): once the succession is assured, the spare is redundant – which is why the Ottomans strangled them. Redundancy takes its toll. Unlike his sister, Andrew is incapable of supporting the King, and has no discernible talents and little discretion (autistic, perhaps?), but yet wants a royal lifestyle.
That said, the heir-and-spare syndrome is no reason to abandon constitutional monarchy, which remains the best form of democratic governance – as Aristotle concluded some 2500 years ago.
@Agammamon – “If they’re giving him money they expect to get something in return – the question is ‘what are they going to get?’”
They get to sow confusion, suspicion, and disent when it is revealed that they are paying him. Reveal it at the right time and it could be a great distraction from something else.
‘constitutional monarchy, which remains the best form of democratic governance’
Well Theo, I did vote to retain it. But of course the problem with voting FOR change is that you have no damn idea what the wankers pushing it intend to do with it.
That is why I usually say no to everything!!
No great fan of Andrew but almost every MP in Parliament works for the CCP and WEF (anyone who backs Net Zero is a CCP supporter by definition) so not sure what the fuss is specifically over him?