Prince Andrew has been seen out horse riding in Windsor today – the same day controversial Netflix drama Scoop, about his car crash interview with Emily Maitlis on BBC Newsnight, airs
A defiant Prince Andrew has broken cover and been spotted smiling on a horse ride – as a controversial dramatisation of his car crash BBC Newsnight interview hits Netflix.
The Duke of York appeared carefree as he waved while riding in Windsor this morning just as Scoop, which tells the story of how the BBC team secured the interview, went live on the streaming platform. The Holiday actor Rufus Sewell stars as the Duke of York while Gillian Anderson portrays interviewer Emily Maitlis in the film, which delves into the story behind the infamous Newsnight chat about Andrew’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The show is based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops, which documents the “high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace through to the BBC’s headline-making interview with the Duke of York.”
When the interview aired back in November 2019, it sent shockwaves around the world with Andrew declining to say he regretted his association with Epstein, memorably recalling a visit to Pizza Express and claiming he was medically unable to sweat. In the days immediately after the interview was aired, the Duke’s life began to unravel and now it looks very different to the one he once enjoyed.
Shortly after the interview, which was widely perceived as a “car crash”, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Andrew was to suspend his public duties “for the foreseeable future”. He no longer appears at official royal events, such as Trooping the Colour or Commonwealth Day, and has been stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages.
However, he has been permitted to join family events and last weekend was with other members of the Firm at their annual Easter Sunday church service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Alongside him was his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who still lives with her former husband at his Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
The outing was documented on the official Royal Family X and Instagram accounts, with a series of jolly pictures from Easter Sunday being shared showing the likes of the King and Queen, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, and their son James, the Earl of Wessex.
However, neither Andrew nor Fergie were seen in the snaps shared. In the caption from the pictures shared on social media on Sunday, Andrew and Fergie are not mentioned by name and are instead referred to as “other family members”. The caption reads: “The King and Queen, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal and other members of the Royal Family attended the Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel today.”
