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A REAL ROYAL ‘SICKO’: PRINCE ANDREW’S DISTURBING QUESTION FOR EMILY MAITLIS BEFORE INFAMOUS ‘NEWSNIGHT’ INTERVIEW REVEALED
Prince Andrew’s “disastrous” November 2019 Newsnight interview, with journalist Emily Maitlis is explored in a new three-part Amazon Prime Video miniseries, A Very Royal Scandal.
As depicted in the show, His Royal Highness’ alleged initial question to the interviewer before the sit-down has him being branded as a real “sicko” thanks to its “twisted” and “disturbing” tone. The program stars Welsh actor Michael Sheen in the role of the disgraced Duke, who meets with the BBC before the sit-down along with his eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice.
During the pre-interview discussion, the Duke leans in close and asks, “Have any of you ever been victims of abuse?”
Maitlis freezes for a moment before replying, “No.”
“Nothing in your life?” HRH replies.
“Nothing that bears comparison,” the interviewer responded in reference to the circulating claims that Andrew sexually assaulted Virginia Roberts in 2001 when she was 17.
Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk then inquired, “So your judgment wouldn’t be colored by anything at all?”
“Not at all,” Maitlis answered.
The reporter was a prior victim of stalking by a man named Edward Vines, whom she met at college in the 1990s. He covertly pursued the journalist for 27 years before being imprisoned for eight years. It is not made clear if the Duke knew about the stalking incident before the interview.
As for the interview itself, Maitlis told an outlet, “My heart started beating really fast. I think for a moment I was quite scared.”