Princess Beatrice's Quiet Role in Prince Andrew's BBC Interview Just Might Shock You

Prince Andrew’s “car crash” BBC interview in 2019 changed the trajectory of his royal career forever, and Netflix is giving the story a new look with the movie, Scoop. The film is based on BBC producer Sam McAlister’s version of events of how she nabbed the hard-to-score interview in the wake of the Jeffery Epstein allegations haunting the Duke of York. While viewers may think they know this story already, there are surprising details that only add more questions as to why he chose to ever do this interview in the first place, especially when he had one close family member weighing in on the decision.

Princess Beatrice sat at the table during the BBC meeting next to Prince Andrew ahead of the interview. She reportedly took notes and asked questions on behalf of her father, and her presence threw everyone for a loop. McAlister sets the stage for SheKnows about what it was like to see Princess Beatrice in that room in 2019.

“So, picture the scene. You go to Buckingham Palace to negotiate with the Queen’s favorite son about his association with a renowned and prolific sex offender, and then you have to do that negotiation in front of his daughter,” McAlister recalls. “Her attendance for us was the curveball of curveballs, but I knew that her opinion would be important if they spoke to the Queen about it.” The former BBC producer praises Beatrice for asking “very sensible questions” as a “daughter looking after her father.”

For McAlister, Princess Beatrice’s attendance gave the situation a “human element,” so she made sure to treat “her questions with respect and dignity. She adds, “It really was an extraordinary situation to have to conduct that professional conversation about such delicate issues in front of his own child.” She also had empathy for Beatrice because the situation had to be “extremely awkward for her” at that moment. “And I felt for her, I really did,” says McAlister.

Princess Beatrice’s presence also made it clear to McAlister that Prince Andrew’s daughter was “horribly aware of this [Epstein] association and the accusations against her father” even though “he strenuously denies” the allegations. It’s something that McAlister still thinks about because she understands that “it must have really been shocking for her and her sister [Princess Eugenie] to find themselves reading about this day after day after day.”

Even with Prince Andrew’s denial, the Epstein association has haunted him for years — and the Netflix movie only serves to amplify a sex-trafficking story that has had no satisfying conclusion.

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