Was Princess Beatrice Really Involved in Prince Andrew's BBC Interview?

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

In Scoop, there's a pivotal scene where the BBC Newsnight team is gearing up to convince Prince Andrew to appear on the program for an interview. They expect to be meeting with Andrew (played by Rufus Sewell) and his private secretary, Amanda Thirsk (Keeley Hawes), but in walks Princess Beatrice, Andrew's eldest daughter (played by Charity Wakefield).

This actually happened in real life.

As Sam McAlister, the BBC producer who negotiated the interview, writes in Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, "Suddenly, [Prince Andrew] appeared, from around the corner of the short corridor: ‘Morning!’ His voice was upbeat. He was smiling. He seemed friendly. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I brought someone with me!’ This was not something that any of us had expected to hear. We exchanged glances. Who could it be? A lawyer? Someone else in communications? Maybe someone from the Queen’s staff? And then, from behind him, Princess Beatrice appeared."

She continues, "To be frank, the only thing worse than speaking to a prospective interviewee about allegations of sexual impropriety, paedophila and sex with a seventeen-year-old-girl is having to do so in front of his daughter. Princess Beatrice was polite and engaged, carrying a notebook and pen, but she was evidently anxious about the meeting, unlike her father. The atmosphere palpably changed for us all."

McAlister reflects, "Princess Beatrice was a total curveball. I had heard she was close to the Queen, who might well ask for her opinion on the meeting, and also knew that she was very close to her father and was clearly there to protect his interests and to ensure that we were the right people to speak to." She continued, noting that Beatrice was now the most important person in the meeting. "The Prince’s eldest daughter was now, in my opinion, the person who could make the difference between us getting the interview and someone else," she wrote. (Read the full excerpt about that Palace meeting with Andrew and Beatrice in T&C.)

At the time, a source told the Daily Mail that "Sarah [Ferguson] was abroad so Beatrice sat in on the discussions. Initially, Beatrice was skeptical that a television interview, which would inevitably delve into her father's private life, was such a good idea. She was asking lots of pertinent questions and had her doubts."

The source added, "But by the end of the meeting she was convinced by the Newsnight team and Amanda Thirsk that they had no choice – that it was the only way to put all the rumours behind them." The Mail explained, "It is understood that Beatrice, with the benefit of hindsight, is now mortified that she did not do more to stop the interview going ahead." Another source from Princess Beatrice's circle told the Mail that "Beatrice has been in tears every day since the interview went out."

You Might Also Like

• 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion

• 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game