9 News Australia: Prince Andrew's future 'hangs in balance'

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The Duke of York, 61, is currently awaiting the decision of a US judge over whether a civil sex assault case against him will proceed to trial. The Queen’s son has vigorously denied allegations made by Virginia Roberts Giuffre that he sexually assaulted her 20 years ago when she was 17. Ms Giuffre claims she was trafficked to the Prince by his former friend, the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew famously addressed his relationship with the disgraced financier in an interview with Emily Maitlis for the BBC’s ‘Newsnight’.

However, the royal has been criticised for the chat, during which he showed a “lack of self-awareness”, according to Andrew Neil.

The journalist discussed Andrew’s ‘Newsnight’ appearance in the recent Channel 5 documentary ‘2021: The Queen’s Terrible Year’.

He said: “At the end of it, he thought he had done rather well.”

He added: “This suggests he has no sense of judgement or self-awareness.”

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The ‘Newsnight’ interview sparked a major public backlash, and amid the fallout several companies and charities Andrew had links to distanced themselves from the Duke.

During his chat with Ms Maitlis, Andrew famously claimed that he was unable to sweat due to a medical condition.

The royal said his military service in the Falklands, during which he was shot at, meant his body produced too much adrenaline and left him unable to perspire.

Andrew told Ms Maitlis that he disagreed with Ms Giuffre’s accusations, which included that he had been “profusely sweating”.

In response to the backlash at the interview, Andrew said he had been given permission by the Queen to step down from his public duties for the “foreseeable future”.

The Daily Telegraph’s associate editor Camilla Tominey, who also appeared in ‘2021: The Queen’s Terrible Year’, claimed the interview did not go as Andrew had hoped.

She said: “The Duke of York had hoped that it would kind of clear the air, that he could get his version of events over.

“And that it would wipe the slate clean and enable him to kind of carry on with his royal life.

“In fact, it did the complete opposite, it proved to be a catastrophic mistake that he has struggled to recover from ever since.”

This week, as the world waits to see whether the case against Andrew proceeds, Ms Maitlis gave her own take on her chat with the senior royal.

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In an article for the BBC, the journalist said that while Andrew’s remarks in their chat may have seemed “jaw-dropping” she was “expecting” them.

Ms Maitlis and her team had a meeting with Andrew in the run-up to their chat, during which the Duke told her what he planned to speak about, she said.

On Tuesday Judge Lewis A Kaplan heard arguments from the Duke’s legal team about why they believe the case against him should be thrown out.

Prince Andrew’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, cited a previously confidential agreement between Epstein and Ms Giuffre that was made public on Monday.

The 2009 settlement saw Epstein pay Ms Giuffre $500,000 (£370,000) to end her legal claims against him.

Mr Brettler claimed that the wording of the agreement, which said that Ms Giuffre agreed not to sue any other “potential defendants”, protects Andrew from being subject to legal action.

The judge has said he will decide “soon” on whether to dismiss the case against Andrew but did not give an exact timeframe.

‘2021: The Queen’s Terrible Year’ is available to stream on My5.

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