Prince Andrew was given a replica James Bond Aston Martin car worth £4,000 when he was just six years old, according to a new documentary examining his public downfall.
The Duke of York – who was then the second in line to the throne – was gifted the working vehicle which had machine guns behind the headlamps, a rotating number plate and a smokescreen function to befuddle chasing villains all before he turned seven.
Channel 4’s Andrew: The Problem Prince examines how Prince Andrew was stripped of his Royal duties over his friendship with late American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and sexual abuse accusations from Virginia Guiffre, who settled her civil claim against the Prince last year. Claims which Prince Andrew vehemently denied.
Royal expert Valentine Low makes claims of how indulged Prince Andrew had been the favourite son of the late Queen Elizabeth II who had been too busy establishing her reign to enjoy raising her first two children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were 12 and 10 years older respectively.
“With Andrew the Queen was a very indulgent mother,” says Valentine. “He was given a miniature James Bond car. I’m not sure there were many children given such presents.”
The young Prince was also a prankster who put foam in the swimming pool at Buckingham Palace, tied the sentries’ shoe laces together and tweaked the television antenna so the Queen couldn’t watch her favourite racing shows.
“He was a complete pain in the neck,” says Valentine.
The show also looks into Andrew’s early life and romances before he married his now ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who became the Duchess of York.
Former Royal press spokesman Dickie Arbiter reveals how fun-loving Andrew loved to party from a young age. “Andrew’s make up was one of enjoying life and the way to enjoy life is to have lots of people around you adoring you because you’re a prince of the United Kingdom,” says Dickie. “You’re a bachelor and the fact there were girls on tap would have been an incentive as well.”
Prince Andrew’s first real love was American actress Koo Stark who was soon deemed unsuitable because she had filmed raunchy sex scenes during her movie career. Dickie explains, “They were very very fond of each other, I think they were probably in love with each other and it was a pity the media got their claws into her because that probably would have been a very good match.”
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie adds, “Whether it was the grey men in suits or members of his family, he was told she was totally unsuitable as a wife.”
The story of how Prince Andrew came to be interviewed by Emily Maitlis on Newsnight in 2019 is told in the show.
The documentary includes how the Duke of York’s daughter Princess Beatrice accompanied her father to the final negotiation for the interview with Emily Maitlis and producer Sam McAlister.
“Around the corner comes his daughter, Princess Beatrice,” says Sam. “That was really quite a curve ball of curve balls. Can you imagine being in Buckingham Palace about to talk to a member of the royal family about sexual offences? That's pretty tricky. And now I've got to do it in front of his daughter.”
Emily adds, “It's the first time the thought crossed my mind that maybe he was doing it for her. ‘Your life has been hellish. You've had to read these headlines. You're trying to get married. I'm going to do this to make it better for you.’ I don't know if that's true, but it crossed my mind.”
The documentary also sets out how BBC’s Newsnight turned down the interview with Andrew three times, due to editorial restrictions from Prince Andrew’s team.
Emily Maitlis says, “[At one point] they said yes to everything except Epstein… it was the deputy editor at the time who said I just don't feel comfortable. We're happy to say no to this interview if it's got vetoes around it. And so, we let it go. Thank God we dropped the whole thing. Because how stupid would we have looked to have done that whole interview knowing that we couldn't ask about Epstein only to find that he was suddenly front-page news?”
Before he recorded the interview, Prince Andrew is believed to have asked The Queen’s permission to talk to Newsnight in an effort to restore his reputation.
Emily says in the documentary. “He said this curious phrase: ‘I've got to seek approval from higher up’. Of course, he's talking about the Queen. You’re asking your mum if it's a good idea. This is a decision that's going right to the top.”
Paul Tweed, a media and defamation lawyer, whose clients have included Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake and Johnny Depp, says he advised the Prince not to talk. “I said ‘no way, no, no, no. That's a bad idea. You should not do it’.”
The Newsnight interview was a public relations disaster for the Prince – but after filming he believed it had gone well.
In it Prince Andrew famously defended his connection to billionaire sex monster Epstein and said he had been “too honourable” to terminate the friendship after Epstein’s conviction. He told Newsnight: "I admit fully my judgement was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is."
Interviewer and journalist Emily, claims Queen Elizabeth realised how badly the interview had gone before Andrew did.
Emily says, “It was only on the Saturday when the Queen had reportedly read the whole transcript that he received a tap on the shoulder by his security detail. And they said, I think – sir You might have to come with us. It was after the queen had seen what the interview contained that I think it dawned on her before it dawned on him.”
Ahead of the broadcast, Emily admits she was full of nerves. On the show Emily says, “Whenever the BBC and the royals meet someone gets fired. I didn’t think it would be him.”
Episode one of Andrew: The Problem Prince airs Monday 1st May at 9pm on Channel 4. The second episode airs on Monday 8th May at 9pm.
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