Lady Victoria Hervey has claimed that her ex-boyfriend, the Duke of York, had not been “media-trained” at the time he gave his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The model and socialite, who is the eldest child of Victor Hervey, the 6th Marquess of Bristol, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday (27 April) to discuss the forthcoming Channel 4 documentary about Prince Andrew that will air on Monday (1 May).
The two-part documentary, titled Andrew: The Problem Prince, features interviews with Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis and producer Sam McAlister. Maitlis revealed that Andrew brought his daughter Princess Beatrice to final negotiations about the interview, which aired in 2019.
Appearing alongside royal biographer Ingrid Seward, Hervey said that the duke had been “living in a bubble” and had “nothing to hide”. He was grilled about sexual abuse allegations brought against him by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in the programme and denied ever meeting her.
Asked by GMB host Kate Garraway if Andrew had been “clueless” about what the interview would entail, Hervey claimed: “He hadn’t been media-trained and I think the fact he had Beatrice with him, he had nothing to hide. In his eyes, he’s never met that girl [Giuffre].”
Seward added that, in Andrew’s eyes, he was “innocent”. Hervey said: “So why not bring your daughter as moral support? You’re not hiding anything from her, you haven’t done anything, so he doesn’t care if they’re going to talk about some sexual assault, because it didn’t happen.”
Hervey has previously defended Andrew against Giuffre’s allegations and claimed that a photograph of Giuffre and the duke that was taken in 2001, at Epstein collaborator Ghislaine Maxwell’s London apartment, was “fake”.
During the segment, Seward also described Andrew as “pretty clueless”, but said: “That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.”
She continued: “For 20 years, he was second in line to the throne, he’s been thoroughly spoiled as a child… I don’t think he’s really lived in the real world. Prince Andrew was so spoiled as a child because suddenly, he was the most gorgeous, bouncy, chirpy baby. He was everything that dear Prince Charles wasn’t.”
In the aftermath of Andrew’s now-infamous interview, he stepped down from public duties and has remained largely away from the public eye. He was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages, as well as his HRH style, last year.
He has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual abuse and said he had “no recollection” of ever meeting Giuffre.
In February 2022, he reached a multi-million-pound settlement with Giuffre to stop her case against him from proceeding to trial. In a joint statement confirming the settlement, Andrew said he regretted his association with Epstein and acknowledged that the late financier “trafficked countless young girls over many years”.
The new Channel 4 documentary will reveal how the late Queen Elizabeth II realised his Newsnight interview was a mistake before her second son did.
Andrew: The Problem Prince will air at 9pm on Channel 4 on Monday 1 May.
