The Duchess of Cambridge, resplendent in red and dazzling tiara, may have wowed the photographers at her first ever State banquet, hosted by the Queen for President Xi Jinping. But playing a more prominent – though perhaps less photogenic – role in the Chinese state visit, however, was the Duke of York.
Not only present at Tuesday’s Buckingham Palace feast – unlike Dalai Lama fan the Prince of Wales – Prince Andrew appeared in white tie, tails, sash and medals the following night at the 15th-century Guildhall in London’s financial district for yet another banquet laid on by the lord mayor in honour of the Chinese president and his folk-singer first lady, Peng Liyuan.
Earlier, at Imperial College London, he was at Xi’s side again, joined by the chancellor, George Osbourne, where they donned 3D glasses to view robotic equipment.
On Thursday, Andrew joined the Communist party leader on a visit to Inmarsat, a leading provider of global satellite communication services, then it was on to the Mandarin Oriental hotel in London for a conference at the Confucius Institute.
Add that to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hosting a showcase of Britain’s “creative industry” and Xi’s chat over a cuppa at Clarence House with Charles, it is little wonder a breathless presenter on China’s state broadcaster CCTV gushed: “This is the royal family! The whole royal family has welcomed President Xi! That has a special meaning.”
The high-profile visit has offered an agreeable international platform for the Queen’s second son, and sixth in line to the throne, who earlier this year found himself at the sharp end of media attention over sex allegations that proved unfounded.
Andrew’s very noticeable presence during this visit – far more so than the part he played in the state visit by Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto in March where he attended only the banquet – is due to his close ties with China.
As the UK’s special representative for trade and investment, he visited China on several occasions, from 2004-11 when he stepped down from the envoy role he had held since 2001.
At the time, he had faced criticism over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier. In January this year, a US woman alleged in court documents that she was forced by Epstein to have sex with the prince when she was a minor, claims denied by Buckingham Palace and subsequently thrown out and struck from the court record by a Florida judge in April.
Throughout the controversy the duke maintained his usual diary of engagements, using an appearance at his Pitch@Palace reception for entrepreneurs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to publicly and firmly deny the allegations.
His high-profile during this week’s visit further serves to emphasis it is business as usual for Andrew, who has long supported strengthening business links with China.
His numerous visits to China include in 2004, 2006, 2010 and May and October in 2011 to promote British business on the invitation of the Chinese People’s Institute for Foreign Affairs, and, pre 2012, to highlight Olympic opportunities.
He has visited once since stepping down as official trade envoy, in October 2014, when, among other invitations he attended the 10th-year celebration ceremony and opened a campus at Harrow International School Beijing.
He has called on British business to grasp opportunities offered by China. Businesses needed to be less polite, more competitive, more bullish and embrace the Chinese market, he told the BBC last year.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Duke of York’s engagements both during the state visit and at other times reflects his work to encourage and support the creation of skilled jobs in the United Kingdom.
“As published in the court circular, the Duke of York has been a regular visitor to China since 2004. These official visits illustrate his core objectives to support the United Kingdom’s economic growth.”
The duke was present when the Queen received the premier of China at Windsor Castle in June 2012, when he also attended a dinner for the China-Britain business council at the Natural History Museum in London.ends
