Princess Beatrice Was Photographed With an Alleged Chinese Spy and Nobody Talked About It

China just got caught running a spy inside Britain's Labour Party – and the net reached all the way to the royal family.

Now a photo has surfaced showing Princess Beatrice smiling alongside the man at the center of it all – and the story of how he got that close is something Beijing would love to keep quiet.

The man standing next to a British princess in that 2016 Nepal photo is now out on bail, facing accusations that he helped China spy on the United Kingdom.

David Taylor Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China

On March 4, 2026, counter-terrorism officers from London's Metropolitan Police arrested three men under the National Security Act on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service. The youngest is David Taylor, 39 – a former Labour adviser, registered lobbyist, and husband of Labour MP Joani Reid.

Taylor was hauled out of his London home at dawn. Simultaneous raids hit Pontyclun and Powys in Wales, where Matthew Aplin, 43, and Steve Jones, 68 – both ex-Labour advisers – were also taken into custody. Properties in London, East Kilbride, and Cardiff were searched. All three have since been released on bail until May while the investigation continues.

Taylor ran his own PR and communications firm, Earthcott Limited, and served as director of policy and programmes at Asia House – a London think tank focused on strengthening ties between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. His wife sits on the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee.

The Photo Beijing Doesn't Want You to See

In October 2016, Taylor joined a small group on a nine-day charity trip across Nepal, India, and Bhutan by car.

Princess Beatrice was on that trip.

The expedition was organized by the Franks Family Foundation, a philanthropic group Beatrice has supported for years. Foundation funder Simon Franks confirmed both were on the journey and stressed that Beatrice "did not know him prior and has not seen him since." Taylor's listed role was policy adviser to the foundation.

The photo matters not because Beatrice had any knowledge of Taylor's alleged activities – the evidence is clear she didn't. It matters because of what it reveals about Taylor's access.

He traveled across Asia alongside royalty. He married a sitting Member of Parliament. He ran a think tank focused on Asia-Europe relations. He built Labour political connections stretching back years.

That is a target profile – and Beijing builds them deliberately.

Chinese Espionage and the Elite Capture of British Politics

This is how Beijing operates – and they've been running this play on both sides of the Atlantic.

Former British intelligence officers documented the strategy in a privately commissioned 86-page report titled China's Elite Capture – a deliberate, patient campaign to infiltrate Western establishments by cultivating influential figures over years or decades at a time. Beijing doesn't send agents who announce themselves. It sends people who join charities, advise politicians, and travel the world doing good works – collecting relationships the way other people collect business cards.

Beatrice's own father fell for the same playbook. Yang Tengbo – shielded behind the alias "H6" for years while courts suppressed his identity – embedded himself inside the royal family's inner circle, attended birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace, and was photographed with two former British prime ministers. A royal aide authorized him to act on Prince Andrew's behalf with Chinese investors. The Home Office eventually barred Yang from entering the UK after ruling he posed a direct national security risk.

Andrew was described by his own country's press as a "useful idiot" for China.

Now the man accused of running the same play inside the Labour Party turns out to have been standing next to the princess herself.

https://twitter.com/ScoopStateside/status/2030125218035806534

This Isn't Just Britain's Problem

Britain's security services have not been quiet about what's happening. Counter-terrorism commander Helen Flanagan confirmed this week that her unit has seen a "significant increase" in national security casework. Security Minister Dan Jarvis told Parliament the operation "relates to foreign interference targeting UK democracy" – and warned that Beijing targets not just politicians but everyone in their orbit.

Taylor, Aplin, and Jones – three Labour-linked men arrested in a single morning – were assets cultivated through charities, think tanks, and the kind of relationships that get you a photo with a princess.

That's the same model China runs in Washington. The same model they run in Ottawa, Canberra, and Brussels. Cultivate the advisers. Marry into the political class. Get close to the people who get close to power. And do it so gradually, so patiently, that nobody notices until the counter-terrorism officers show up at dawn.

Beijing spent years building this network inside Britain. The question every American should be asking right now is who's building the same network here – and whether anyone in Washington is paying attention.

Gee, if you swap countries and add in some suspicions of highly illicit and disgusting crimes, it could sound a lot like some other foreign influence operations that were dominating the news recently and still would be if bombs hadn’t started flying.

Oh hey, was that the one Beatrice’s own father was wrapped up in?

You see what’s happening.

Sources:

• Fintan Starkey, "Princess Beatrice photographed with an alleged Chinese spy on Asia tour," GB News, March 7, 2026.
• "Husband of Labour MP among three men arrested on suspicion of spying for China," ITV News, March 4, 2026.
• "Three men with links to Wales released on bail over alleged spying for China," ITV News Wales, March 5, 2026.
• Ella Bennett, "Suspected Chinese spy joined Princess Beatrice on Nepal trip," LBC, March 6, 2026.
• "Who is David Taylor? Husband of Labour MP arrested over Chinese spying claims," LBC, March 7, 2026.
• "Book, Report Spark Concern Over China's UK Elite Influence Operations," Radio Free Asia, July 2020.