Prince William Has an Awkward Connection to Uncle Prince Andrew's Disastrous BBC Interview

Prince Andrew's BBC interview about his Jeffrey Epstein ties has been nominated for a BAFTA TV award—and his nephew Prince William is BAFTA president.

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  • Prince Andrew's BBC interview about his Jeffrey Epstein ties was widely considered a disaster, and Andrew officially stepped down from his public duties shortly afterwards.
  • The November 2019 Newsnight interview, with BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, has since been nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) TV Award.
  • Which means Prince William is in an awkward position: He's been president of BAFTA since 2010.

Prince Andrew's November 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis could be considered the end of his royal career. In the interview, widely branded a disaster, Andrew discussed his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, denying Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre's allegations that she was forced to have sex with the royal but saying he did not regret his friendship with the convicted sex offender because of the "useful" opportunities it presented.

Shortly afterwards, he announced in an official statement that he would "step back from public duties for the foreseeable future," stating that his "former association with Jeffrey Epstein [had] become a major disruption to [his] family’s work." Earlier this week, the Times of London reported that Andrew would never return to his official duties, alleging that the Duke of York was now considered "toxic" to the royals.

That interview's since been nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) TV award, as People reports, in the "Best News Coverage" category. Which brings Prince William into the picture: He's been the BAFTA president since February 2010.

While that makes for an uncomfortable connection between William and his uncle's disastrous interview, it is, however, unlikely that the Duke of Cambridge will be present should the interview win the trophy—as People notes, William and Kate Middleton are frequent attendees of the BAFTA Film Awards, but have never gone to the BAFTA TV Awards.

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Emily Dixon
Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.