Former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis has revealed she fears her now infamous Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew could ‘hurt’ his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.
The Duke of York’s disastrous 2019 BBC interview, which addressed allegations that Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was trafficked into having sex with him when she was 17, heralded the beginning of the end for his role within the royal family .
Within two years of that interview, the Queen had stripped him of his military ties, royal patronage and use of his HRH title and settled a civil lawsuit brought by Mrs Giuffre for reportedly £12 million ($16.3 million).
But there was also an impact on his interviewer, Ms. Maitlis revealed in a column for The timeswhich comes just days before the airing of a new two-part Channel 4 documentary, Andrew – The Problem Prince, and a week before the King will be officially crowned in Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Ms Maitlis said the couple’forever linked by the most random locations (Pizza Express, Woking) and the most imaginative excuses (an inability to sweat).’
Former BBC presenter has revealed the impact of her BBC Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew three years later, including whether it did his daughters ‘harm’
Ms Maitlis said the pair would be ‘forever linked by the most random locations (Pizza Express, Woking) and the most imaginative excuses (an inability to sweat)’
Ms. Maitlis said, “How can an interview designed to provide answers to vulnerable young women not end up hurting other vulnerable young women – his daughters – along the way?”
Newsnight producer Sam McAlister claimed Prince Andrew (right) was ‘euphoric’ after his interview with Emily Maitlis (left) because ‘he thought it went really well’
But she equally struggled “in the aftermath” with how Prince Andrew’s revelations would affect his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.
‘HHow could an interview designed to provide answers to vulnerable young women not end up hurting other vulnerable young women—his daughters?”
Ms Maitlis also revealed how three years after the interview she is asked to speak at events on global issues or the political landscape, but the public almost always asks about her interview with Prince Andrew and whether she foresaw the consequences it would cause .
She wrote: ‘Honestly, I think we always suspected that the interview could define the Prince. I think I was less prepared for the way it was going to define me too.”
In retrospect, the former BBC journalist questioned whether Prince Andrew had agreed to the interview to clear his name for Beatrice’s sake ahead of her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi just months later.
Similar comments were recently made by Newsnight producer Sam McAlister, who reveals in the forthcoming Channel 4 documentary that the Duke had brought his daughter, Princess Beatrice, to the final negotiations with the BBC over what should be included in the interview.
“Can you imagine being in Buckingham Palace and about to talk to a member of the royal family about sex crimes? That’s pretty awkward – and now I have to do it in front of his daughter,” the producer said.
Ms Maitlis said at the time she thought he might have agreed to talk in an attempt to make amends with his daughter, who had recently become engaged.
She told the Channel 4 documentary: “It was the first time the thought crossed my mind that maybe he did it for her.
“Your life has been hellish. You should have read these headlines. You are trying to get married. I’m going to do this to make it better for you. I don’t know if that’s true, but it popped into my head.’
She also revealed in today’s column how she was unprepared for the global impact the interview had – and continues to make, with a Netflix drama in the pipeline starring Sex Education star Gillian Anderson as Ms Maitlis and The Man In The High Castle actor Rufus Sewell as Andreas.
In the forthcoming Channel 4 documentary, which explores the story behind the Newsnight interview, Ms Maitlis reveals that the late Queen realized it could be a PR disaster before Prince Andrew did.
Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell pose in a photo taken at Maxwell’s Mews House
Ms Maitlis revealed that the monarch had been given a transcript of the Duke of York’s appearance on the BBC’s premier news program asking him about his association with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Shortly afterwards, the Duke, who was said to be ‘euphoric’ after the interview which he said had gone ‘really well’, was apparently tapped on the shoulder by his security detail and led away.
The interview was the perfect gift for Virginia Giuffre because it contained “so much probably false stuff,” her lawyer said.
Attorney Sigrid McCawley said the Duke of York’s series of blunders and bizarre defense of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein in the 2019 interview gave them a “road map to tear him apart.”
On the original Newsnight broadcast, the Duke denied having had sex with Mrs Giuffre, said he had no recollection of ever meeting her and that he had spent the day at Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey, at a party with one of his daughters. .
Ms Giuffre said Andrew was sweating profusely as they danced at London’s Tramp nightclub during an alleged encounter.
The Duke told Mrs. Maitlis that his service in the Falklands War had caused a medical condition at the time, which prevented him from sweating.
One of Prince Andrew’s friends, Irish defamation lawyer Paul Tweed, said in the documentary that he tried to persuade the Duke not to give the interview.
Ms Maitlis revealed she was ‘appalled’ by some of the Duke’s reactions, describing it as ‘a tidal wave of bad answers’.
She said, “That’s how I know Prince Andrew is happy with the interview because he kept chatting. He seemed very cheerful.
“Lots of people came in and I said, ‘What’s going on?’ They said, “Okay, Thursday night we have cinema night at the palace. You can stay if you want.”
And at that moment I just thought: I have to get out of here. I needed the space to work out what just happened.’
After the BBC broadcast in November 2019 and the furor over Andrew’s friendship with Epstein, the Duke retired from public life.
Last year he reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre, reportedly worth up to $12m (£9.6m) following her civil sex claim against him in the US.
He strongly denies any allegation.
Epstein was found dead in August 2019 in his cell at a Manhattan federal prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Representatives for Prince Andrew have been contacted for comment.
Andrew: The Problem Prince airs Monday 1 and Monday 8 May at 9pm on Channel 4