Five years ago the Duke of York gave a disastrous interview to Newsnight. In it he discussed his ill-advised friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in a prison cell. It wasn’t the mea culpa many had expected. Rather than fall on his sword, Prince Andrew only served to make matters worse for himself. Much worse. Days after the interview aired on the BBC he was removed from royal duties. If the Palace thought that was an end to it, the television listings prove otherwise.
Within six months there have been two big-budget television programs charting his fall from grace. First came Scoop, a feature-length program from Netflix. Now Prime Video has released its own version of events: A Very Royal Scandal. Both draw heavily on real events, albeit with a healthy dose of imagined dialogue and drama.
In Scoop we saw the Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s point of view. Did she have scores to settle? Maybe. Her Newsnight colleagues were portrayed as cold and hapless. One executive is seen jumping fearfully on the back of a moped as he speeds out of Buckingham Palace clutching a recording of the interview. Didn’t happen, I’m told. McAlister appears to secure the interview after telling the duke that he is known as “Randy Andy”. Recollections may vary, some say. Even Rufus Sewell, who wore prosthetic jowls to play Andrew in Scoop, took a publicly neutral view of the duke in interviews.
A Very Royal Scandal brings us far closer to the events behind palace walls. The producers have rightly surmised that the main character is the Duke of York himself. Those who were in the room when it happened say that, for the most part, it’s uncannily accurate. No doubt Scoop helped in its way. Some of those who were unhappy with their portrayal in the first drama may have been more approachable the second time round. The role of McAlister is reduced to a bit part, and even Maitlis, who acted as executive producer on the new show, is more nuanced.
The publicity surrounding the program has made much of its decision to stick as closely as possible to the facts. Ruth Wilson, who plays Maitlis, raided the presenter’s wardrobe for her costume, borrowing her handbag and her military-style jacket. Wilson said: “I could actually smell Emily on me.”
So how much of the drama is real and how much is fiction?
Does Prince Andrew swear at courtiers?
TRUE
From the very first time we see Prince Andrew, played by Michael Sheen, he is swearing at a member of staff. Storming through the corridors of the palace, he barks at a footman to “f*** off”. He continues to shower staff with expletives throughout the three-part series.
While it is not known whether any staff have made an official complaint about Andrew’s behavior, there have been numerous reports of the duke’s foul-mouthed monologues. In 2003 the Daily Mirror journalist Ryan Parry went undercover at Buckingham Palace and reported that the duke was known to swear at staff. Parry said that a senior footman went to open the curtains for the duke one morning and said, “Good morning, Your Royal Highness,” to which Andrew replied, “F*** off.” In his book Courtiers Valentine Low described the duke as “stunningly rude”. Low recounts an incident in which Andrew told a courtier to “f*** off out of my office and f*** off out of my life”.
Sarah, Duchess of York had her debts paid by Jeffrey Epstein
Partly true
In the first episode the drama shows Andrew traveling to New York to meet Epstein at his mansion. In a toe-curling scene he is seen in Epstein’s office, groveling for money to clear his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson’s debts, saying that “she’s got herself into a spot of bother” with one of her old secretaries, who is suing her for more than $160,000 in unpaid wages.
When Epstein says, “Why do you let that woman bleed you for money? I thought you guys were divorced years ago,” Andrew says that Ferguson got “a pretty rotten deal” out of their divorce so he tries to help. Epstein agrees to settle the debt, saying: “OK. Done. It’s gone. Vamoose. Forget about it.” Andrew says he will pay him back but Epstein waves it away, saying, “It’s my gift.”
It’s true that Epstein helped to clear some of Ferguson’s debts, but Andrew has always said it was the much lower figure of $19,000. At the time the duchess owed about $100,000 to her former personal assistant Johnny O’Sullivan in unpaid wages and bills, as well as a similar amount to Kate Waddington, her former public relations consultant.
Speaking about her cash gift from Epstein, Ferguson told the Evening Standard in April 2012: “I had no idea of the string of other allegations and court cases against him and I am distraught that I should have allowed myself to get out of debt with any help from him when my judgment was clouded.”
Princess Beatrice was present at the meeting with her father and the Newsnight team
True
Andrew’s elder daughter, Princess Beatrice, played by Tilda Swinton’s daughter Honor Swinton Byrne, is seen taking part in the meeting along with her father and Thirsk. She was indeed in the original meeting with the Newsnight team. It is understood that she was there to protect her father and learn more about the plan proposed by the BBC for the interview. She was seen taking notes and appeared cautious about the proposals.
While A Very Royal Scandal shows the Newsnight team sitting squashed in a row on a sofa as they faced questioning from the duke, in reality the team was seated around a table, as seen in Scoop. While McAlister’s seating plan may be more accurate in the earlier dramatization, others quibble with her dialogue. Some of those familiar with the real-life events don’t recall the producer ever telling the duke: “People know you as Randy Andy.”
Emily Maitlis had a stalker
True
In the program Maitlis mentions that she had a stalker but didn’t feel it compared to the abuse suffered by Virginia Giuffre and Epstein’s other victims, so didn’t tell Andrew when asked if she had been abused. In the final episode the topic of the stalker comes up again when Maitlis finds one of her sons reading criticism about his mother online.
Edward Vines was jailed for eight years in 2022 for breaching a restraining order by repeatedly writing letters to the presenter and her mother. The restraining order was originally made in 2002, but Vines, who attended Cambridge University with Maitlis, had persistently breached it. He had previously been given prison sentences of 4 months, 18 months, 45 months and 3 years.
In court Judge Mark Watson told Vines: “You are tortured, in my judgment, by your preoccupation with Emily Maitlis. It is an obsession from which you are unable to escape.” He added: “The only thing stopping you from contacting Ms Maitlis is the protection given to her by your continued imprisonment.”
Andrew asked for his alibis to be added after the interview had been filmed
Partly true
The second episode, which largely focuses on the filming of the interview at Buckingham Palace, shows Andrew reach the end of his questioning, only to reprimand Maitlis for not asking him about his alibis. Thirsk comes up to Andrew to say: “Sir, the alibis. You didn’t mention those.” Andrew says: “You didn’t ask me about my alibis as discussed. The sweating and my visit to Pizza Express.” Thirsk adds: “We must insist that you include these details.”
The cameras start rolling again and Andrew delivers the “alibis” that he couldn’t be the sweaty man Giuffre identified in Tramps nightclub because he was at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking that night, and in any case an “overdose of adrenaline” suffered during his service in the Falklands conflict left him with an unusual condition that meant “it was almost impossible” for him to sweat. The Newsnight team later argue in the edit suite over whether to include them or not.
Recollections may vary within the Newsnight team about whether these “alibis” were included once filming had finished. As is usual at the end of an interview, a journalist might ask whether there is anything the subject wishes to add. While it seems that Andrew did indeed mention his bizarre “alibis” to Maitlis at the end, it wasn’t in such a dramatic fashion as depicted in the program. Those close to the Newsnight editing process say there was no row over the inclusion of the duke’s “alibis”. Those in the room when the interview happened say they were something that stood out at the time, and that Andrew had come prepared to deliver the absurd anecdotes that he believed would get him off the hook.
Andrew initially believed that the interview had gone well
True
In episode two Andrew and Thirsk are seen to be relieved once the interview is complete and both appear to think it has gone well for the duke. He tells Maitlis: “I am most grateful for the opportunity.” He adds: “Obviously it was a risk but I felt it [was good]. Thank you, Emily.” The duke then agrees to pose for photographs in the “splendid corridors” of Buckingham Palace. Thirsk adds: “I thought that went well.”
The Newsnight team recognized their scoop but Andrew did not realize how his responses would come across. Not everyone in the Palace shared his view. Elsewhere in the royal household there was a sense that this was a ticking time bomb. Donal McCabe, the Queen’s press secretary, had been sent in to record the interview, which he duly did. The recording was then taken back to the Queen’s private secretary, Edward Young.
The Palace offered to pressure the BBC into pulling the interview
False
Also in the second episode Young, played by Alex Jennings, appears in Thirsk’s office after the interview has been conducted but before it is broadcast. By now he has been briefed by McCabe. He asks what her “leverage” is with Newsnight “if you think it was a mistake”. She admits she has none. Young asks: “Could you stop it? I could make a call … if you thought it was in the prince’s best interest.” Thirsk tells him that it won’t be necessary.
Sources say that this is not correct. While it is accurate that Thirsk did not have any “leverage” — any contractual power to scrap the interview after filming — there is no suggestion that the Palace would lean on the BBC to pull it.
Young did know the contents before it was aired and was braced for the public reaction, thanks to McCabe, who recorded it to check against delivery, safeguarding the duke from any unfair edits. In the event bad editing was the least of Andrew’s problems.
Andrew did have a wobble before the interview was filmed, but it was short-lived and not as dramatic as in the drama. The Queen’s aides felt this was a bad idea but the decision to go ahead lay with Andrew and Thirsk.
Amanda Thirsk was sacked by the Queen’s private secretary
True
In the final episode, after the broadcast of the Newsnight interview, Thirsk is called into Young’s office, where she is fired. Young is seen leafing through the papers, saying that he has never seen the Queen “so upset”. Young says Thirsk has “managed single-handedly to threaten the survival of the monarchy”. He adds: “I am afraid you’re going to need to step back. We’ll have you sign an NDA and there will be the usual severance package, but as of Monday you no longer work for the Duke of York.” When she asks, “Does Prince Andrew know about this?” she is told: “The decision comes from higher up.” Later, Thirsk goes to a pub to meet Newsnight’s Maclean, who was influential in securing the interview.
While the dialogue in the program is imagined, the details remain the same. Thirsk was told that her employment was being terminated shortly after the Newsnight interview aired. Once the dust had settled, Thirsk did go out to meet Maclean. She later found work in the corporate sector with a Chinese company.
Kate Mansey is assistant editor at The Times of London
