Prince Andrew’s daughter was present for dad’s disaster Newsnight interview
Prince Andrew’s infamous Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis will go down as one of the most awkward and disastrous interviews in the history of British TV.
The Duke of York’s 2019 grilling at the hands of the veteran interviewer made waves around the world, but now it has been revealed that he wasn’t alone in the room when it happened.
Asked questions about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his actions towards Virginia Giuffre who was 17 at the time the two allegedly met, Andrew was left in a bind coming out with strange lines.
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He even claimed that he didn’t sweat and was instead eating at a Pizza Express in Woking. Andrew has strongly denied allegations he had sex with Giuffre when she was underage.
But it is likely he wasn’t the only person in the room feeling uncomfortable because it turns out that his daughter, Princess Beatrice, was present on the day too.
The producer who secured the interview, Sam McAlister, has now revealed that BBC bosses were surprised when Andrew arrived with Beatrice by his side.
McAlister described Beatrice as “the rainmaker” who decided whether or not the interview would go ahead.
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“The only thing more difficult than negotiation in Buckingham Palace with a member of the Royal Family about the alleged improprieties that he has committed of a sexual nature – extremely delicate – is [doing it] in front of his daughter,” Ms McAlister said.
McAlister, a former criminal barrister, had assumed the duke would arrive with a lawyer in tow and was taken aback when none showed and instead Beatrice walked through the door.
The lack of “men in grey suits” was a surprise, she said to Times Radio, as they normally accompany royals to such interviews.
“I really felt that she was the rainmaker,” McAlister said. “She asked very sensible questions that everybody else was probably, you know, a little bit circumspect about answering, because the focus, understandably, was on Prince Andrew.
“But I answered them all, because I felt her element in that negotiation was absolutely crucial.”
She also added: “With the benefit of hindsight he was a bomb waiting to go off. He wanted to say something on the record at some juncture.”
McAlister said that Beatrice was more nervous than her father ahead of the interview. She said: “Princess Beatrice was polite and engaged, but, unlike her father, she was evidently anxious about the meeting and clearly there to protect his interests.”
McAlister also said that Beatrice only found out about the upcoming interview after she was invited to tea with her dad, after which she was asked to be present for the questioning.
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