In his infamous BBC Newsnight interview on November 16, 2019, Prince Andrew sat down with journalist Emily Maitlis to address his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations made by Virginia Giuffre (then Roberts), who said she was trafficked to the Duke at age 17. The interview was meant to clear his name but instead became a public disaster. Andrew denied ever meeting Giuffre despite the now-iconic photo showing them together, claiming he had “no recollection” of her and insisting that on the night in question, he had been at a Pizza Express in Woking with his daughter. He also called his relationship with Epstein “very useful” for business and refused to apologize for associating with him, saying his biggest mistake was “not breaking off the friendship sooner.”

Public backlash was immediate and brutal. Viewers described his answers as arrogant and tone-deaf, with one of his most ridiculed defenses being that he couldn’t have been sweating while dancing with Giuffre because a war injury from the Falklands had caused him to “temporarily lose the ability to sweat.” The interview was widely viewed as catastrophic, leading Andrew to withdraw from royal duties and lose multiple titles and patronages. It permanently damaged his reputation and deepened public disgust with both him and the monarchy, becoming one of the biggest PR disasters in royal history.


to contact me:

[email protected]

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.