- Prince Andrew’s “Newsnight” interview has been depicted in a new series.
- The Duke of York stepped back from public life in 2019 after the interview about Jeffrey Epstein.
- Despite losing titles, royal experts believe Andrew won’t ever be fully cut out of royal life.
The public may not completely forgive Prince Andrew’s controversies – but the royal family might, according to royal experts.
The Duke of York stepped back from public life in 2019 after his “Newsnight” interview where he was questioned about his involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It’s the interview that won’t disappear, having been adapted for streaming services twice in the past year.
“It was car crash television. It was like watching someone be buried alive,” Kinsey Schofield, a royal commentator and host of the “To Di For Daily” blog and podcast, told Business Insider.
“Prince Andrew thought he’d just delivered a masterclass in charm attack. But we watched a man lose everything in 58 minutes,” she said.
But while it seems we’re still preoccupied with Andrew’s now-famous appearance, there may be signs that he is being brought back into the royal fold, experts say.
BBC News/YouTube
One interview, two adaptations
Back in April, Netflix released “Scoop,” a movie starring Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell, and Billie Piper. The film is based on the memoir by former “Newsnight” producer Sam McAlister.
More recently on September 19, Amazon Prime released “A Very Royal Scandal,” a three-part drama series based on former “Newsnight” journalist Emily Maitlis’ account of the interview, starring Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen.
Both adaptations showed the painstaking efforts to secure the interview and alluded to the damaging effect it would have on Andrew’s reputation.
The interview followed controversy surrounding Andrew’s relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a jail cell after being charged with sex trafficking dozens of minors.
In August 2019, an unsealed document from a defamation lawsuit involving Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, alleged that the Duke had engaged in sexual relations with one of Epstein’s alleged victims on three occasions.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the alleged victim who filed the lawsuit, claimed Maxwell and Epstein sex-trafficked her and forced her to have sex with Andrew.
Andrew denied the claims in a statement released by Buckingham Palace in August 2019, but his subsequent BBC interview caused a controversy of its own.
Speaking to BBC News earlier in September, Maitlis said the prince “lost the respect of the nation.”
The repercussions
The interview appeared to severely damage the public perception of Andrew, who is the younger brother to King Charles.
As a working royal, the prince was once known for his business partnerships and investments. He held the role as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment until 2011.
However, multiple firms with strong links to the prince distanced themselves in the aftermath of the interview. Pitch@Palace, a charity Andrew created for tech startups and investors, was blacklisted by multiple former sponsors, including KPMG, Standard Chartered, and Cisco.
The charity removed Andrew’s name from its website in 2020, BBC News reported at the time. It’s unclear if he still holds a role behind-the-scenes.
Meanwhile, high-ranking royal family members, including King Charles and Prince William, refrained from publicly supporting Andrew and are still rarely photographed with him.
The prince’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have continued to support him, though it’s worth noting that Andrew was notably left out of Beatrice’s wedding photos in 2020.
Kristien Meinzer, a royal commentator, author, and host of several podcasts including “The Royal Report,” told BI that the royal family is unlikely to “ever fully cut ties” with Andrew, even as they distance themselves.
She said this could be for several reasons, including her belief that the prince is “incapable of taking care of himself” after a lifetime of royal privilege.
When he was a working royal, the prince received a yearly salary from the Sovereign Grant, funded by UK taxpayers. The Telegraph reported that taxpayers paid more than a quarter of a million pounds, or around $328,000, for his international security detail since 2014.
Meanwhile, royal commentator and public relations consultant Richard Fitzwilliams said the prince will always hold the support of his two daughters and ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. The two have remained close over the years and it’s been widely reported that they still live together at Royal Lodge, a $39 million property in Windsor that Andrew leases from the Crown Estate.
“He is such a kind, great man, he is a brilliant father and now a fantastic grandfather,” Ferguson said in an interview on the Italian talk show “Porta a Porta” in December 2021, cited by MailOnline.
“I believe that the love I have for him and he has for me is just very different from what normal people have. We have great respect and love for each other,” she added.
Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter previously told BI that while Andrew’s “public life is over,” he is still likely to continue attending family events.
In 2023, he attended a Christmas Day church service alongside the royal family and he was also present at King Charles’ coronation earlier that year.
Schofield said the institution is unlikely to ever fully reject Prince Andrew. However, she noted that his involvement in family events could be scaled back when Prince William ascends the throne.
“I do believe we will see much less of him under a King William reign,” she said. “Prince William is incredibly intelligent and recognizes that you are only as strong as your weakest member. He will be very keen of this when he is in charge.”
William and Kate have never publicly commented on Andrew’s situation. However, in March 2020, Prince Harry—who left the institution that year—was secretly recorded saying that he was “completely separate” from his uncle.
“I have very little to say on that. But whatever he has done or hasn’t done, is completely separate from me and my wife,” he said.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.