The British royals have long been a fascination. The wealth, pomp and ceremony surrounding them have placed them apart from the majority of us. It is hard to imagine the luxury of a 775-room palace with servants and chauffeurs being integral to everyday life. Their privilege brings a sense of mystique to those belonging to the House of Windsor and yet beyond it, they are human and they are flawed and, occasionally, they tell us that in their own words.
The most recent and shocking example of this is Prince Andrew who, in an extraordinarily unusual move in 2019, was interviewed by the BBC’s Emily Maitlis. This Newsnight interview wasn’t about his work as a royal, but about his relationship with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and the allegations made against him by one of Epstein’s victims.
The interview was an unmitigated disaster for the royals, one which, five years on, shows no sign of going away. Earlier this year Netflix released the film Scoop and now Amazon Prime has its own offering, A Very Royal Scandal, executive-produced by Maitlis. Two versions in five months might seem like overkill, but both offer different perspectives on the debacle.
