Prince Andrew Reportedly Ignored Princess Beatrice, Fergie's Advice Regarding BBC Interview

Prince Andrew reportedly ignored Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson when they pleaded him not to give an interview about Jeffrey Epstein. This is contrary to previous reports that Princess Beatrice and Fergie were among the key figures who pressed the Duke of York to participate in the controversial interview.

According to Prince Andrew’s friends, Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson advised Prince Andrew to keep mum about the issue instead of trying to clear his name. However, Prince Andrew reportedly paid too much attention to his chief of staff, Amanda Thirsk, who advised him to grace the interview so he could clear and defend himself.

Thirsk reportedly wanted a more gung-ho approach to the interview, believing that it was the only chance for Prince Andrew to draw a line under his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Despite Princess Beatrice and Fergie’s advice, Thirsk allegedly pressed the Duke of York to do otherwise.

Three days before the BBC interview was filmed, Prince Andrew met BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis and the program’s deputy editor, Stewart Maclean, to discuss the scope of the interview. Accompanying him that day were Princess Beatrice and Thirsk.

Contrary to reports that it was Fergie who primarily urged Prince Andrew to do the interview, the Duchess of York was not present during the meeting with BBC. More recent reports have revealed that Fergie was abroad when the details of the interview were being finalized.

While Princess Beatrice was present during the meeting, a close friend of the princess claimed that she was not part of the decision-making. In fact, just like her mom, she was also not keen on the idea of ending all the speculations about Prince Andrew’s involvement with Epstein through that interview.

“Bea went to one meeting with the BBC, that’s all,” Princess Beatrice’s friend said. She reportedly did not have any say on how the interview was going to go, or if they should proceed with it or not.

It is no secret that the interview turned out to be a disaster for Prince Andrew, and his family was just as upset about its aftermath. Last Wednesday, the Duke of York released an official statement announcing his withdrawal from royal duty.