BBC’S Emily Maitlis has revealed that Prince Andrew was “happy” with his car crash Newsnight interview.
The Duke of York sat down withMs Maitlis last month at Buckingham Palace for a “no holds barred interview” with “no questions vetted” about his links with dead paedo Jeffrey Epstein.
He was faced with backlash by viewers who criticised the 59-year-old for failing to show regret over his friendship with Epstein or empathy for the dead financier’s alleged victims.
It also called for fresh demands for the Andrew to be interviewed by the FBI over his relationship with Epstein, who was found hanged in his jail cell in August.
Prince Andrew repeatedly denied claims he slept with one of Epstein’s alleged sex slaves Virginia Roberts when she was 17.
The Duke was forced to take a step back from royal duties and patronages as he told the Queen the interview was a “great success”.
Ms Maitlis said she didn’t think Prince Andrew would receive the the level of backlash he did and praised him for his “candour” in answering the tough questions she put to him.
She said her impression of the Duke after the interview “was definitely that he had been happy with it”.
Ms Maitlis told Radio Times she couldn’t believe the public reaction to the interview.
She said: “I didn’t see it coming.”
“It wasn’t an attempt to bring down the royals, just a chance to understand the story.
“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.”
ROYAL DENIALS
During the BBC2 interview, Prince Andrew denied he had sex with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts in 2001 after going to Tramps nightclub in London, claiming he was at a Pizza Express in Woking with his daughter Princess Beatrice.
Ms Roberts claims she had sex with the prince three times – which he strongly denies.
Andrew also said he didn’t regret his friendship with Epstein, who he referred to as “Jeffrey”, because met “useful” people through him.
Prince Andrew had described his pal’s behaviour as a convicted sex offender as “unbecoming”.
The embattled Duke of York has faced continued scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein, who hanged himself in August while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
Andrew was infamously pictured with his arm around Ms Roberts at Ghislaine Maxwell’s home in London in 2001- which he casted doubt on the authenticity of the photograph during the interview.
The Duke was last pictured with Epstein in New York in 2010 after the hedge fund manager had been released from prison and was a registered sex offender.
He said during the interview that he regretted going to the Big Apple to see him.
Ms Roberts has claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times between 1999 and 2002 in London, New York and on Epsteins private Caribbean island.
In 2015, a US judge struck out Ms Roberts’ allegations against the Prince for being “immaterial and impertinent”.
The Duke said he was on a date in Boston when Virginia said she was trafficked to him in New York.
Epstein was first jailed in 2008 for procuring an underage girl for prostitution. He got an 18-month sentence, during which he was able to go on work release to his office six days a week. He was released on probation after 13 months.
This July he was arrested on sex trafficking allegations. On August 10 he was found hanged at the New York Metropolitan Correctional Centre three weeks after being found unconscious with neck injuries.
Checks were not carried out on the night in question, and CCTV appeared to have malfunctioned. Officials are investigating.
Prince Andrew, pictured with Jeffrey Epstein in New York in 2010
