Prince Andrew opened up about his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York City prison this year, in a BBC interview on Saturday night. Palace insiders are calling the interview "one of the single worst PR moves in recent history" which led to the recent resignation of Prince Andrew's public relations adviser after he advised the Prince not to take the interview.
The Queen does not approve of the interview
Apparently, the Queen was only made aware of the interview after Prince Andrew's team had set it up. The interview with news anchor Emily Maitlis was pre-recorded at Buckingham Palace and aired on British television this past Saturday night. A statement from the palace read, "The Queen was aware of the interview but not that she approved it." According to the Sunday Times, "There is concern in Buckingham Palace and concern in Clarence House. Charles thinks it is highly misguided. The timing is awful, with a general election going on."
Prince Andrew's PR Guy Quits
Jason Stein, a top public relations consultant, was hired in September to help guide Prince Andrew after the allegations of Virginia Roberts came out against the Prince. He has now reportedly quit in frustration to the Duke of York's decisions about the very sensitive matter, like moving forward with the BBC television interview that is being seen as an outright disaster but royal insiders and the public as well. Stein apparently quit two weeks ago when everything was moving forward despite him advising against it.