Prince Andrew’s ‘terrifying’ trait will be exposed in ‘Scoop’ drama that will ‘harm’ royals at worst time, expert says
PRINCE Andrew’s ‘terrifying’ trait will be exposed in the upcoming drama ‘Scoop’, an expert has said.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said that the Duke of York has a ‘terrifyingly entitled streak’, which viewers of the Netflix programme ‘Scoop’ will be reminded of when it airs on Friday.
The film, which stars Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson, tracks Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis in November 2019.
The Duke had sat down with Maitlis for a wide-ranging interview, and discussed his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Fitzwilliams said: “He has this terrifyingly entitled streak… and I think you’ll find millions tuning in again to see a depiction of it.
“The reports are that Princess Beatrice is certainly not happy with it, apparently she features.”
He added that the programme would be “very embarrassing, and it won’t be helpful for the Royal Family”.
During the notorious Newsnight interview, Andrew told Maitlis that he could not have had sex with 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre because, on the day she alleged it happened, he was at Pizza Express in Woking for a kids’ party with daughter Beatrice.
He also insisted that he could not have “sweated profusely”, as was claimed, due to a medical condition he said he developed while serving in the Falklands War as a Navy helicopter pilot.
Andrew also defended his relationship with Epstein, saying that knowing the financier had “some seriously beneficial outcomes”, but added that his reason for meeting him in 2010 was to “put an end to the friendship”.
The memoir of part-time BBC producer Sam McAlister, 51, about the incredible 13 months of negotiations leading up to the 2019 interview is the basis for the film Scoop.
Ms McAlister is portrayed by Billie Piper.
Mr Fitzwilliams said that the drama will not only remind people of “how horrendous” the Newsnight interview was, but of “how entitled a member of the Royal Family can be”.
He added: “Scoop is part of Netflix, and I think you’ll find a lot of people, I think they’ll watch it on Friday, because there’s been so much publicity.
“I think it will be very harmful.”
Mr Fitzwilliams said that the Queen would not have had “the faintest idea of what was going to happen, and the parts of it, event and legend”.
He added: “When I talk about legend, I mean comedy legend, the sweating which hasn’t been explained, the weird Pizza Express in Woking aspect of it.
“A serious, serious part of it, of course, was the fact that he expressed absolutely no remorse for the victims of Epstein.
“When asked if he regretted his association with the deceased Jeffrey Epstein, he answered that he didn’t.”
Mr Fitzwilliams added: “This will be very embarrassing, and it won’t be helpful for the royal family… Andrew has appeared recently quite often, but I stress that those are in only in the context of religious services of one sort or another, and there’s no question if you’re doing anything else, not foreseeably, absolutely not.
Ms McAlister had previously said that she had to “set my face to frozen throughout”, and there were several occasions where she “couldn’t believe” what she was hearing.
“It quickly became clear that Andrew was performing a masterclass on how to destroy your own life. And it was also clear that he thought it was going swimmingly,” she said.
In February 2022, Andrew settled with his sex crime accuser Virginia Roberts. The settlement was announced in a joint letter just weeks before he was due to face a court battle.
In the joint statement, Andrew’s lawyers wrote: “It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years.
“Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
Discussing Prince Andrew’s recent duties, Mr Fitzwilliams said: “He’s only been visible at events… religious ceremonies, the induction of the new Dean of Windsor, the memorial service to King Constantine.
“Because William, as we know now why, pulled out at the last minute, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson appeared to be, so to speak, very prominent.
“I mean that he’s still a member of the Royal family hasn’t been convicted of anything, and from that point of view, when it comes to religious services that seems to me perfectly fine. It’s what’s happening.
“And Sarah Ferguson is, of course, as we know, unwell. She had a mastectomy last year, and then she’s now apparently has melanoma.”