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| Prince Andrew's private secretary steps down after Newsnight interview | Prince Andrew's private secretary steps down after Newsnight interview |
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| Amanda Thirsk, who orchestrated disastrous BBC interview, will run prince’s mentoring initiative | Amanda Thirsk, who orchestrated disastrous BBC interview, will run prince’s mentoring initiative |
| The aide who orchestrated Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview about his links to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is no longer his private secretary, it has emerged as organisations continue to sever ties with the beleaguered royal. | The aide who orchestrated Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview about his links to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is no longer his private secretary, it has emerged as organisations continue to sever ties with the beleaguered royal. |
| Amanda Thirsk, who was said to have played a key role in persuading him to agree to the BBC interview, has reportedly moved on to run his business mentoring initiative. | Amanda Thirsk, who was said to have played a key role in persuading him to agree to the BBC interview, has reportedly moved on to run his business mentoring initiative. |
| It comes as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra announced on Friday it had dropped Andrew as its patron, with the prince also stepping down from the same role at London Metropolitan University. | |
| The BBC confirmed it would air a damaging Panorama interview on 2 December with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who claimed she was made to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions including when she was 17. | The BBC confirmed it would air a damaging Panorama interview on 2 December with Virginia Giuffre, the woman who claimed she was made to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions including when she was 17. |
| Giuffre spoke to Panorama three weeks ago for an investigation the programme has been working on for months scrutinising the prince’s connections with Epstein, who killed himself in August as he awaited trial on new sex trafficking charges. | Giuffre spoke to Panorama three weeks ago for an investigation the programme has been working on for months scrutinising the prince’s connections with Epstein, who killed himself in August as he awaited trial on new sex trafficking charges. |
| But before the episode was ready to air, the prince agreed to do a sit-down interview with rival BBC programme Newsnight. | But before the episode was ready to air, the prince agreed to do a sit-down interview with rival BBC programme Newsnight. |
| The interview with Emily Maitlis, during which the royal denied claims he slept with Giuffre and failed to express sympathy to Epstein’s victims, prompted an outpouring of criticism. He told the Newsnight presenter he only went to stay with Epstein in New York in 2010, after Epstein had served jail time for child sex offences, to inform the financier that he could no longer associate with him. | |
| The interview led to his suspension from duties by the Queen. On Wednesday, after days of unrelenting pressure as a slew of companies cut ties with the prince, the Queen gave permission for Andrew to “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future”. He said he would be “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required”. | |
| Buckingham Palace on Friday refused to comment on Thirsk’s departure from her long-standing role as the prince’s private secretary. Her position in pushing for the interview is understood to have been at odds with Jason Stein, the aide who left just a fortnight after he was brought in to assist with managing the prince’s reputation. | |
| Reports suggested Thirsk would take up a role as the chief executive of Pitch@Palace, the prince’s business mentoring initiative, where she has already served as a director since 2014. Pitch@Palace did not respond to a request by the Guardian for comment. | |
| The RPO became the latest organisation to distance itself from Andrew after its management met the royal’s office on Thursday afternoon. In a statement released on Friday, a spokesman said: “At a subsequent meeting of the RPO Board, it was decided that the orchestra should part company with its patron, with immediate effect. The RPO would like to express its gratitude to His Royal Highness for his support of the orchestra over the past 15 years.” | |
| It followed London Metropolitan University announcing that the prince had resigned “with immediate effect” as its patron. “The university’s board of governors will consult widely, in particular with our students, about whether and how we replace the duke with any senior honorary roles,” it said. |