Prince Andrew has no future in public life as a royal, a commentator has claimed. The Duke of York was forced to step back in the wake of Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s civil court case in the US over sexual assault allegations. Andrew has repeatedly and strenuously denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations.
The Duke is now eyeing a return to frontline royal duties and is reportedly exploring his legal options in a possible bid to see the settlement overturned, according to reports.
But royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has claimed the Duke’s age will count against him and the comeback he reportedly seeks.
He said: “At 62, he has no royal future and his popularity is down to single digits. Ghislaine Maxwell won’t help him by supportive statements from prison.
“The much publicised recent stunt featuring two figures in a bath, which was supposedly designed to help his reputation, was simply farcical.”
He added: “The Newsnight interview is still fresh in the national memory and the photograph of him with Giuffre has not been proved a fake. In his handling of the allegations against him, he continues to be his own worst enemy.”
During the disastrous Newsnight interview, which won the Scoop of the Year at the 2020 Royal Television Society Awards, the Duke denied claims he had sex with Ms Giuffre.
She said the prince sweated heavily as they danced at London nightclub Tramp in one alleged encounter.
However, Andrew told then Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis he had a medical condition at the time – caused by his service in the Falklands War – which meant he did not sweat, and that he had no recollection of ever meeting Ms Giuffre.
He said he spent the day at Pizza Express in Woking for a party with one of his daughters.
Andrew’s Newsnight interview is to be made into a new Netflix film starring Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell.
The streaming service said the film will give viewers the “inside track” on how Andrew came to be grilled by Maitlis over his relationship with late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in November 2019.
Sex Education star Anderson, 54, who won a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Television Award for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in Netflix series The Crown, will play Maitlis.
Andrew will be played by Sewell, 55, who recently starred in The Man In The High Castle and The Pale Horse.
The film is based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews From Prince Andrew To Steven Seagal.
Netflix said it will look at “navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high-stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal – to the jaw-dropping interview itself”.
The film will also spotlight “the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through the highest of ceilings”.
McAlister spent a year securing the sit-down, on-camera meeting with Andrew. She left the BBC in July 2021.
She said: “It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage.”
