A former personal secretary to Prince Andrew is taking part in a key position within the deliberations of a Chinese on-line retail big over a attainable bid for Currys, the excessive road electrical items chain.

Sky News has learnt that Amanda Thirsk, who quit as the Duke of York's private secretary practically 4 years in the past, is working in a senior enterprise growth position at JD.com.

A former banker, Ms Thirsk labored at Buckingham Palace for Prince Andrew from 2004 till the spring of 2020, when she reached a settlement to terminate her position within the aftermath of his disastrous interview with the BBC's Panorama programme.

She is known to have been working with JD, one among China's largest e-commerce teams, for a lot of the interval since she left the Palace.

Ms Thirsk additionally quit her role as chief executive of Pitch@Palace, Prince Andrew's flagship enterprise enterprise, shortly after stepping down as Prince Andrew's personal secretary.

Sources mentioned she was now concerned in JD.com's analysis of a attainable bid for Currys, which noticed its shares soar final week after Sky News revealed that it had attracted takeover curiosity from Elliott Advisors, the personal fairness agency.

JD.com has but to submit a proper supply for the London-listed retailer, however has been set a mid-March deadline by the Takeover Panel to take action or stroll away.

Listed on New York's Nasdaq trade and in Hong Kong, JD.com has over 600m prospects globally.

It operates greater than 1,600 warehouses in China, making it an enormous logistics participant even by the requirements of the world's most populous nation.

A spokesman for JD.com and Ms Thirsk each declined to remark.