‘A Very Royal Scandal’ Skillfully Skewers Prince Andrew [Review]
Is there anything to be gained from watching a second take on Prince Andrew’s infamous 2019 interview about his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.
Prime Video’s three-episode series A Very Royal Scandal premieres Sept. 19. It arrives just months after Netflix’s Scoop, released in April 2024. But even though the two cover similar ground, the new drama offers a fresh interpretation of the one-on-one conversation that effectively ended the Duke of York’s royal career. It digs deeper into the prince’s motivations for sitting down with Newsnight, delivering a compelling portrait of a deluded and isolated man fighting not just public opinion but his own extended family as he tries to defend his indefensible actions.
‘A Very Royal Scandal’ explores Prince Andrew’s disastrous 2019 interview
By now, Andrew’s trainwreck Newsnight interview has become the stuff of legend. In the candid, one-hour conversation with Maitlis, the prince tried (and failed) to explain his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He also attempted to refute allegations that he’d assaulted 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s trafficking victims, in 2001. But Andrew’s odd excuses, evasive answers, and refusal to say he regretted his friendship with Epstein were a PR disaster. Soon after, he was forced to step back from his royal duties.
What could have possibly possessed Andrew to expose himself in such a way on the national stage? That’s the question at the heart of A Very Royal Scandal, which was directed by Julian Jarrold and stars Michael Sheen as Andrew and Ruth Wilson as the BBC’s Emily Maitlis. Scoop focused heavily on Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s dogged efforts to get Andrew to agree to the Buckingham Palace sit-down. In contrast, A Very Royal Scandal devotes most of its attention to the two main players in the drama: Andrew and Maitlis. It explores their motivations for doing the interview, the lead-up to the big event, as well as the effect the bombshell conversation had on both.
Andrew’s troubled relationship with his family contributed to his downfall
Sheen’s Andrew is part blustering, dim-witted oaf, part wounded boy smarting over his diminished role in his powerful family. His military service was the “happiest time” of his life, he says. Andrew still sees himself as the brave young man who fought in the Falkland Islands War. But the world has moved on. Now, he’s a lesser royal without much purpose.
Jeremy Brock’s brisk and occasionally sharply funny script imagines what was going on behind the scenes with Andrew in the chaotic lead-up to the interview. In this telling, his strained relationship with his brother, the then-Prince Charles (never seen onscreen), as well as his feelings of isolation and exclusion from The Firm, contribute to his decision to agree to speak to Maitlis, despite warnings that it’s a terrible idea. The implication is that if Andrew had stayed in line, the family would have circled the wagons and protected him, no matter what he did.
But above all, it’s Andrew’s inability to be honest with himself about what really happened with Epstein and Giuffre that seals his fate. His unsettling interactions with an oily Epstein (John Hopkins) are seen briefly in flashback. There are just glimpses of the night with Giuffre. But it’s enough to make clear that he’s lying about not realizing who Epstein was and not remembering the encounter with Giuffre.
In Scoop, Gillian Anderson’s Maitlis was icy and composed. She’s a more complicated and interesting character here, brought to life by Wilson. (Maitlis is an executive producer on the show.) When we first see her, she’s frantically spilling the contents of her handbag at the door to the palace. She drinks, swears profusely, and is addicted to her phone.
Though Wilson’s attempt to mimic Maitlis’ distinct voice is not entirely successful, she crafts a portrait of a woman deeply committed to her job. Just watch her suppressed smile as she realizes the hole that Andrew is digging himself into as they talk. It’s the face of someone who knows they’ve nailed the assignment. But as Maitlis deals with the fallout of the interview, she begins to wonder if she’s done a disservice to Epstein’s victims, thanks to the way the interview has pulled focus away from them and onto the disgraced prince.
‘A Very Royal Scandal’ is more like ‘Succession’ than ‘The Crown’
A colorful cast of secondary characters adds context and depth to the story, particularly in the interactions between Sir Edward Young (Alex Jennings), Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary, and Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk (Joanna Scanlan).
The royals are “naive” and “arrogant” people used to living in a “frictionless” world, he warns her early on. “Our MO is to protect them from themselves,” he explains. But above all, a loyal retainer’s job is to protect the monarch. “The duke is one thing. The crown quite another,” he says. When Thirsk fails in this core duty, she pays the price.
Sarah Ferguson (Claire Rushbrook) is every part the devoted wife (despite her and and Andrew being divorced). She’s willing to close her eyes to her ex’s misdeeds in order to maintain her privileged position. It’s not a flattering portrait, particularly when the show makes an unnecessarily mean jab at her relationship with food. But even the duchess has her limits. That’s clear in a post-inverview scene where Andrew tells her that he was “trying not to sound guilty.”
“Are you?” she asks, after telling him earlier that she wouldn’t ask that question.
Andrew vehemently proclaims his innocence. But Fergie has the look of a woman who knows she’s being lied to, while his face betrays the realization that even those closest to him no longer believe his version of the story. Princess Beatrice (Honor Swinton Byrne) encourages her father to do the interview and supports him even after his fall. But she knows she’s also bound by the family’s rules. At her wedding, she asks him to step aside so that she can take an official portrait “with Granny.” The snub visibly pains Andrew.
As he preps for the fateful interview, Andrew says it “feels a bit like Game of Thrones.” In many ways, it’s an apt comparison. But another HBO series, Succession, might make a better one. A Very Royal Scandal owes more to that barbed comedy-drama than it does to a show like The Crown, which treats Windsors with a more sympathetic touch. Like the Roys, the royals in this series think of business first, family second. Those who step too far out of bounds will find themselves with a metaphorical knife in the back.
A Very Royal Scandal is streaming on Prime Video on Sept. 19.
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