'Another Prince Andrew embarrassment for the Palace': Royal experts say new ... trends now
Royal experts have argued that Netflix's new drama about Prince Andrew is yet another indication that he is 'a serious liability' and completely unfit for the family.
The Duke of York, 64, is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as Scoop painstakingly retells his disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis - piling yet more pressure on the Palace to freeze him out of royal life completely.
Royal author Richard Fitzwilliams said the Netflix show was yet another very embarrassing situation for the Palace, while biographer and investigative journalist Tom Bower thinks it shows it is high time for Charles to act and remove the Duke from 'public view'.
Mr Bower said: 'To save the Royal Family from more horrendous damage, King Charles will finally need to order Prince Andrew to permanently stay out of public view.'
The Duke of York , speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis in 2019
Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew and Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, on the right in the new Netflix drama Scoop
Royal author Richard Fitzwilliams said: 'The film conveys the extraordinary sense of entitlement that Andrew had. He is told by his aide Amanda Thirsk to 'just be himself' and he is - that's the most damning thing.'
He continued: 'Senior officials also need to tell Andrew the truth. He is a serious liability and cannot be trusted or rescued. Unless King Charles firmly grasps this nettle it can only get worse'.
Mr Fitzwilliam said: 'The film conveys the extraordinary sense of entitlement that Andrew had. He is told by his aide Amanda Thirsk to 'just be himself' and he is - that's the most damning thing.
'It is very embarrassing for the Palace and simply another indication that Andrew is completely unfit for the Royal Family he was born into.
'The public's view of him is already ghastly and couldn't be worse so this will confirm people's opinions. The film also adds a new dimension by portraying his childlike side - such as the scene featuring his teddy bears.
'The person we see in the film doesn't seem to have any idea of reality. It shows how people in a privileged position can become completely out of touch.'
A grinning Prince Andrew was pictured out riding this morning as a 'hugely embarrassing' new film about his disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis went live on Netflix.
The Holiday actor Rufus Sewell stars as the late Queen's son while Gillian Anderson portrays Ms Maitlis, who quizzed Andrew about his friendship with billionaire convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Tom Bower said: 'To save the Royal Family from more horrendous damage, King Charles will finally need to order Prince Andrew to permanently stay out of public view '
Prince Andrew is pictured today going out on a morning horse ride in Windsor
Despite facing yet more public humiliation, Andrew appeared in good spirits this morning - smiling broadly as he went for a ride in the grounds of Windsor Castle with a female companion.
He wrote: 'Like Netflix's The Crown, director Philip Martin's film deftly mixes historical truths with dramatic licence. But fiction can't compete with fact.
'Scoop is never more electrifying than when it finally arrives at the only part of the story we already know intimately, the interview itself, with all its extraordinary minutiae about Pizza Express in Woking and Andrew's supposed inability to sweat.
'It is very carefully and convincingly recreated.'
The Daily Telegraph film critic Tim Robey also awarded it five stars out of five, hailing the layers of drama which he feels sets it apart from previous royal dramas like The Queen and The Crown.
Robey said: 'It's no laughing matter, obviously, but aspects of the whole saga are still inescapably absurd, and maximally milked in a borderline-The-Thick-of-It fashion without going overboard.
The Duke of York appeared to be in good spirits despite facing fresh public humiliation
Andrew was joined by a female companion during his morning ride
The Holiday actor Rufus Sewell stars as the Duke of York while Gillian Anderson portrays Ms Maitlis
'The director, Philip Martin, plays everything right to the cusp - where you clamp hand to mouth, aghast at remembering that this train wreck actually happened, and irresistibly compelled to relive it.'
But the film, also starring Billie Piper and Keeley Hawes, received mixed reviews, with The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw described the performances as laborious.
Bradshaw offered the film two stars out of five, describing it as 'laboriously acted and distinctly self-admiring, self-mythologising drama about the media, the royals and the media
