Emily Maitlis says Prince Andrew interview ‘wasn’t an attempt to bring down the royals’
‘I admire him for his candour,’ says BBC presenter
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Emily Maitlis has said her BBC Newsnight interview with the Duke of York “wasn’t an attempt to bring down the royals”.
Last month, the broadcaster interviewed Prince Andrew about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke was also asked to address allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was forced to have sex with the royal when she was 17 years old.
In the interview, Prince Andrew denied Ms Giuffre’s claims and said an alleged encounter with her in 2001 could not have happened as he spent the day with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, taking her to Pizza Express in Woking for a party.
But his responses were widely criticised, with many viewers accusing him of being unsympathetic towards Epstein’s victims, while others said he showed a lack of remorse.
Speaking to the Radio Times, the broadcaster explained that the backlash took her by surprise.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Ms Maitlis said. “It wasn’t an attempt to bring down the royals, just a chance to understand the story.
“I didn’t like people saying, ‘Oh, it’s a car crash interview’, because I thought, ‘That’s not enticing, that’s not encouraging’.
“I don’t want people thinking that’s what happens at Newsnight.”
Ms Maitlis went on to say that she felt Prince Andrew “had been happy” with the way the interview had gone and praised him for his openness.
“I admire him for his candour and his engagement with the questions in an age of so much deviation and circumnavigation, and quite often a failure to put yourself up for scrutiny,” she said.
In a piece for The Times, Ms Maitlis had claimed that the Queen had approved her interview with the duke.
Describing the final stages of securing the interview, Ms Maitlis wrote: “We have finished laying out our pitch. An awkward moment of silence falls. And the duke tells us he must ‘seek approval’ from higher up.
“It dawns on us then that he means the Queen herself. At 8am the next day we have a message telling us to call his office. The Queen, it seems, is on board.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments