Prince Andrew’s China ‘spy’ scandal aide ran secret trust fund intended for princesses
The senior adviser to the Duke of York at the centre of a Chinese “spy” scandal once ran a shadowy trust fund on Prince Andrew’s behalf.
Dominic Hampshire, 56, is a close friend of the Duke and shares his passion for golf.
Such was the nature of their relationship that in a letter dated October 2020, he told the alleged spy that he was authorised to act on the Duke’s behalf when making investments in China.
A few months earlier, Mr Hampshire had felt it necessary to stress to the Chinese contact how valuable a friend he was to the Duke.
“I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family,” he said.
“You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship... outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”
Mr Hampshire, a former equerry to the Duke of Kent, ran a junior golf tournament set up in Prince Andrew’s name.
He was also the sole director of Lincelles, the secretive company set up to act as a trust fund for the Duke’s two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The company, incorporated in 2020, was structured as an unlimited company, meaning it would not be required to file accounts with Companies House and could avoid disclosing its profits or income.
But the Duke was advised that while such ventures are fairly standard for ultra high net worth individuals, they were not appropriate for a member of the Royal family.
As such, the company was abandoned and has never been used.
“Not a penny has gone in and not a penny has come out,” one friend said at the time.
The Duke controlled 75 per cent of Lincelles through his Urramoor Trust while Harry Keogh, another friend and adviser who was the subject of a sexual harassment probe at Coutts, was listed as a fellow controller.
Mr Keogh, a former managing director at Coutts, the Queen’s bank, resigned in March 2018 after he was accused of touching a female colleague inappropriately and boasting about his sexual exploits.
Mr Hampshire has been in the Duke’s orbit for decades. He is secretary of the Quad Centenary Club which was set up to raise funds for the Royal Blackheath Golf Club in London, of which Andrew was said to be chairman.
In 2001, he set up a luxury travel company, later telling US magazine Cigar Aficionado: “We literally hold the keys to the castle, and our connections allow for visits to otherwise private castles, golf clubs, after-hours private tours of museums with the curators, those kinds of things.”
He told Esquire magazine in 2007 that he had provided a tour of Kensington Palace with Princess Diana’s former bodyguard and a pre-opening tour of Windsor Castle.
In 2021, Mr Hampshire penned a letter to the alleged Chinese spy known only as H6, emphasising that he was free to act on the Duke’s behalf.
The letter added that after a meeting with the Duke, they had “wisely navigated our way around former private secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove those people who we don’t completely trust”.
It said: “Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor.”
On Friday, a statement from the Duke of York’s office said that the royal “ceased all contact” with the alleged spy after receiving advice from the Government.
The statement says: “The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.
“The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed.
“He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
The Telegraph approached Mr Hampshire for comment.
