In November 2019, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – formerly known as Prince Andrew – joined Newsnight's Emily Maitlis in a now historic interview about his friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender. An event which was dramatised in the Netflix biographical drama, Scoop (2024). during the 58-minute broadcast, Andrew claimed that he and Epstein were not "very good friends" despite staying at several of the financier's properties and his private island.
© Samir Hussein/WireImageAndrew, 65, was also questioned about Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers, following her allegations against him. Prior to the interview, Ms Giuffre publicly stated that she had met the royal in London in 2001 when she was just 17, and after dining with Andrew, engaged in sexual relations with him at a home in Belgravia, which was owned by Epstein's girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. In response, Andrew told Maitlis that he had "no recollection" of ever meeting Giuffre, insisting that it "didn't happen".
Amid the recent news that Andrew's style, titles and honours are being removed by his brother, King Charles, not to mention his removal from the Royal Lodge in Windsor, we're taking a look back at the explosive Newsnight interview, which is widely regarded as a public relations disaster, and one of the biggest contributing factors to Andrew's downfall.
Key moments from Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview
"Too honourable"
© Getty ImagesA headline-hitting moment, during the interview, Maitlis asked Andrew why he decided to stay at Epstein's New York mansion in December 2010, just months after Epstein, who had been convicted of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, was released from prison.
"I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together," Andrew replied. Noting that multiple people had counselled him on whether or not to visit, Andrew added that he made the judgment call to fly to New York, where he was photographed meeting with Epstein in a park.
When Maitlis pointed out that Andrew had continued to stay at Epstein's mansion for several days afterwards, the royal said that with hindsight it was "definitely the wrong thing to do," but because he felt it was the right and honourable thing to do at the time, his judgement had been "coloured" by his "tendency to be too honourable".
Pizza Express
© ShutterstockThe moment that perhaps sparked the most memes and backlash online, Prince Andrew denied ever spending an evening with a then underage Virginia Giuffre at a London nightclub, declaring that on the date in question, he was at home with his daughter, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
"I was with the children and I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at I suppose four or five in the afternoon. And then because the Duchess [Sarah Ferguson] was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away, the other is there."
When Matilis questioned why he remembered the Pizza Express party so clearly, Andrew said: "Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do."
Unable to sweat
© Getty ImagesAs Maitlis quizzed Andrew over the alleged evening that he spent with Ms Giuffre, she continued: "She (Giuffre) was very specific about that night; she described dancing with you, and you profusely sweating and that she went on to have a bath, possibly."
"There's a slight problem with the sweating because I have a peculiar medical condition, which is that I don't sweat or I didn't sweat at the time," Andrew responded.
"I didn't sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when I was shot at, and I simply… it was almost impossible for me to sweat. And it's only because I have done a number of things in the recent past that I am starting to be able to do that again. So I'm afraid to say that there's a medical condition that says that I didn't do it, so therefore…"
Photo with Virginia Giuffre
© Getty ImagesDespite Andrew's claims that he did not remember meeting Virginia Giuffre, the father-of-two had no explanation when Maitlis referenced a photo of the Prince with his arm around 17-year-old Giuffre's waist. Declaring that he had "no memory" of the photograph being taken, Andrew could not confirm whether or not it was a fake, stating that from the investigations that had been done, "you can't prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not."
If you have been affected by this story and wish to seek help, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year.
