Beatrice helped set up Newsnight interview
No wonder friends say she’s been in tears all week
THE Duke of York’s former wife Sarah Ferguson and daughter Princess Beatrice were among the key figures pressing him to go ahead with last weekend’s disastrous Newsnight interview.
The Mail on Sunday understands that the Duchess of York had been keen to end the speculation about Andrew’s involvement with convicted paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein ahead of Beatrice’s wedding to property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi next year.
Fergie is also believed to have been convinced that if the public could see the Duke – or ‘my boy’, as she is said to call him – talking in his own words about the scandal, they would be convinced that he was telling the truth.
She could hardly have been more wrong. Last week, Andrew stepped down from Royal duties amid unrelenting criticism of his performance.
Fergie had stayed away from meetings with the Newsnight team and was abroad when details of the i nterview were being finalised.
However, Beatrice, the couple’s eldest daughter, was present along with Andrew’s then-private secretary Amanda Thirsk.
Beatrice, 31, and Andrew met Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis and the programme’s deputy editor, Stewart Maclean, at Buckingham Palace three days before filming to discuss the scope of the interview.
An insider said: ‘Sarah [Ferguson] was abroad so Beatrice sat in on the discussions. Initially, Beatrice was sceptical 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.
‘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.
‘ It was clear that Fergie was always there in the background.’
So out-of-touch was the Prince t hat, when t he i nterview was recorded two days before last Saturday’s broadcast, he felt it had gone well.
The source says that the Yorks had hoped the BBC would screen the interview the same night and were disappointed when producers told them it would take a few days to prepare the footage.
The Prince has confirmed to friends in recent days that his former wife had backed his participation in the programme.
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, not least as it casts an even greater shadow over her forthcoming wedding.
It also leaves her and younger sister Eugenie in a difficult position when it comes to their future roles as working princesses.
The source said: ‘ Even though she’s their daughter, both Sarah and Andrew rely on Beatrice’s judgment a lot when it comes to dealing with the public as she’s got an old head on young shoulders.
‘You can’t really blame Beatrice because I think the odds were stacked against her on this one.
‘ Andrew, Fergie and Amanda decided they had to do it.’
Andrew’s performance and its aftermath seem to have hit the Princess hard and she was tearful while hosting a party for her f i ance’s 36th birthday at t he exclusive Mayfair nightclub Annabel’s on Tuesday night.
One member of the Princess’s circle said that what should have been a celebration was a solemn and awkward affair. Prince Andrew stepped down from Royal duties the following day.
‘Beatrice was sombre and makeup-free for the birthday dinner,’ the source said.
‘She was probably worried that her mascara would r un. She seemed quite tearful at times. In fact, Beatrice has been in tears every day since the interview went out.’
Such is the furore created by the interview, it has been rumoured that Beatrice and Edo might spend the next few months in America.
The Princess already spends much of her time in New York, where she works for Afiniti, a company run by Prince Harry’s friend Tom Inskip.
Three months after her engagement, there is still no date for her wedding, although it is understood that the Queen has told her granddaughter she can announce one once the General Election is over.