Prince Andrew remains 'blight' on the monarchy warn experts

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have recorded a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, which will air in the US on Sunday and in the UK on Monday. The couple’s two-hour special with the US TV legend is set to delve into their experience being in the Royal Family and why they left. In a stunning clip released ahead of the broadcast date, Meghan accused the Palace of “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and Harry.

While the circumstances around their interviews are wildly different, the last time a member of the Royal Family agreed to an on-screen unscripted interview it was the Duke of York, whose car-crash performance led to him stepping back from royal duties just days later.

Andrew has been under fire in recent years for his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which he himself has branded “ill-judged”.

Epstein died in prison in 2019 while due to stand trial for the trafficking of underage girls for sex.

Now, his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell has been charged with procurement and trafficking offences, which she vehemently denies.

Andrew has been accused by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged sex-trafficking victim of Epstein, of having sex with her three times when she was 17.

Andrew has vehemently denied the accusation.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.

“Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

Andrew recorded an interview with BBC Newsnight in November 2019, in which he was grilled by Emily Maitlis on his association with Epstein.

The interview, which was branded “disastrous” and “excruciating” was the culmination of years of statements from the Palace attempting to dispel increasing scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein.

However, it only made matters worse as viewers were stunned by his bizarre claims and apparent lack of remorse.

When asked whether he regretted his friendship, he said he did not, due to the people he met and things he learned, although he later clarified in a statement that he does “unequivocally regret” his association with Epstein.

One public relations expert told Sky News that watching the footage of the interview was like “watching a man in quicksand”.

Crisis consultant Mark Borkowski said it would likely “haunt” the Duke in the future, adding: “I’ve never seen anything so disastrous.

“For students of PR, that is how not to do it. It was like watching a man in quicksand, and unfortunately, I don’t think anyone would have thrown him a line to get him out.”

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He said the Duke should “keep a low profile”, switch off his phone and not look at the papers, which were dominated by stories about him.

He added that it could well impact his association with some charities, which has proved to be true, as he has stepped aside from his 230 patronages.

Rose McGowan, the actress who became one of the most vocal accusers of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, said the interview made her feel “nauseous”.

Piers Morgan said in response to her tweet that he found it “excruciating”.

Prince Andrew: Royal expert on 'details' of Jeffrey Epstein

Andrew was mocked on social media for some of his comments, including his claim that he was at Pizza Express in Woking on a night he was accused of having sex with Virginia Roberts.

TV presenter Giles Coren said: “Ask him what he ordered.

“If he says ‘a sloppy Giuseppe’ you’ve got him. Because they didn’t introduce that till 2006.”

It also led to some reviews for the restaurant, with one person writing: “Love this place. I had a cracking pizza here in 2001.

“I remember it was 2001 because it was very strange the guy next to me had an American Hot pizza with extra chillies… not a drop of sweat came off him. Very odd.”

However, he did receive some support, most notably from his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

The Duchess of York wrote: “Andrew is a true and real gentleman and he is stoically steadfast to not only his duty, but also his kindness and goodness of always seeing the best in people.”

She added that she was “deeply supportive of this giant of a principled man”.

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