Prince Andrew’s friend has mocked the “gutting” of Newsnight and claimed the Duke of York is “back in the Royal Family fold”.
In 2019, Prince Andrew was interviewed by Emily Maitlis on Newsnight, where he famously discussed his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In the years since the interview, Newsnight has been cut to 30 minutes and many staff members were let go.
A friend of the Duke of York have mocked this fact, especially as Andrew is said to be “back in the Royal Family fold”.
Prince Andrew is tipped to be ‘back in the Royal Family fold’
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The friend told the Daily Beast: “The irony of course is that Newsnight got gutted anyway [the nightly show was cut to 30 minutes, and more than half of its 60 staff were fired], and Andrew is very much back in the fold.”
In February, Prince Andrew publicly led the procession of royals into St George’s Chapel for King Constantine’s memorial service.
He also was one of the few royals who attended the Easter Sunday service alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Earlier this month, a new film titled Scoop dropped on Netflix, which recreated Andrew’s Newsnight interview.
Prince Andrew was interviewed by Emily Maitlis on Newsnight in 2019
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According to Andrew’s friends, the show portrayed the duke to be an “extremely good convener of people”.
They continued to tell The Daily Beast: “I think the show, to the satisfaction of everyone who actually knows the guy, made clear that Andrew was an extremely good convener of people.
“He did actually play a valuable role for the royals with Pitch@Palace and his other business-focused advocacy work.
“When he was at a business meet and greet in a conference room in Hong Kong, there was real energy when he entered the room.
Emily Maitlis has since left Newsnight and the BBC
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Prince Andrew recently led the procession of royals at King Constantine’s memorial
PA
“Those things are otherwise as dull as ditch water. He flew the flag for British business. He knows he screwed up monumentally over Epstein—but nobody is now doing what he did then. He still has a lot to offer.”
The same day Scoop dropped on Netflix, the Duke of York, 64, was photographed horseriding in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Historian Andrew Lownie told The Mail it was “extraordinary to see Andrew out riding on Friday morning, the day the film about his Newsnight interview came out”.
He added: “If ever there was a day to keep a low profile, that was it.”
