Prince Andrew: Beatrice was 'rainmaker' in meeting says McAlister

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Earlier this week, former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister appeared on Times Radio to discuss Princess Beatrice’s involvement in Prince Andrew’s infamous bombshell interview with Emily Maitlis in 2019. The Duke of York allegedly arrived with his eldest daughter to an interview preparation meeting without informing BBC staff of her presence beforehand. Ms McAlister claimed that although out of shot, Beatrice sat “in the line of vision” as Emily interviewed the disgraced royal.

Times Radio presenter Ayesha Hazarika asked Sam McAlister if Beatrice “contributed much” to Prince Andrew’s interview with Emily Maitlis.

Ms McAlister replied: “She did. I really think she was the rainmaker.”

She added: “You can imagine in that room, it’s a very small room.

“I was closer to Prince Andrew than I am to you. Emily [Maitlis] was between the two of us.

“Princess Beatrice was here in the line of vision opposite me, Amanda Thirsk here, and Stuart, right at the other end of the table”.

Ms McAlister continued: “[And] I really felt that she [Beatrice] was the rainmaker because at the end of that interview, in a theoretical conversation with the Queen, the Queen goes, “so, what do you think, darling.

“[And] Andrew will go, Emily Maitlis. She’s incredible. Sam McAlister, she’s great. Stuart was fab. We have to do this.

“Then she will turn to the sensible one. Princess Beatrice”.

Ms McAlister added: “To me, crucially, her answer would be the difference between yes and no.

“So, she asked very sensible questions, that everybody else was probably, you know, a little bit circumspect about answering because the focus was, understandably, s on Prince Andrew, but I answered them all because I felt that her element, in the negotiation, was absolutely crucial “

Sam McAlister discusses Prince Beatrice in Andrew interview

In her interview with Times Radio, Ms McAlister discussed how it is thought that Beatrice only learned of the meeting after being invited to tea with her father later that day, which prompted her to request to sit in during the talk.

The interview between Andrew and journalist Emily Maitlis saw him answer allegations that he had sex with a trafficked 17-year-old girl – which he has always denied.

He also explained his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

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Andrew’s interview with Emily was widely regarded as disastrous.

He denied having sex with Virginia Giuffre, who was 17 at the time.

In February 2022, it was confirmed that Prince Andrew had agreed to pay a settlement fee to bring the civil sexual assault case brought by his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, to a close.

The settlement agreement has been reported to amount to as much as £12 million.

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