The disastrous consequences led to his “resignation” from royal duties, and were followed by events that would eventually lead him to pay a multi-million pound deal in a civil sexual abuse case without admitting a crime.
McAlister has now shared details of the Newsnight interview in his new book, Scoops: Behind The Scenes Of The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, syndicated in the Daily Mail.
He describes how he was first contacted by a PR for the Duke’s Pitch @ Palace initiative asking if Newsnight would like an interview about young entrepreneurs and he turned down.
A second attempt, in which the Duke was willing to talk about anything except Epstein, was also rejected by the current affairs program in May 2019.
In November, following Epstein’s arrest and death and the testimony of his victims, the Duke’s team agreed to a meeting in person to discuss the terms.
Princess Beatrice “obviously anxious”
The Duke was joined by Princess Beatrice, and McAlister noted, “To be honest, the only thing worse than talking to a potential interviewee about allegations of sexual and sex irregularity with a 17-year-old girl is having to do it. in front of his daughter.
“Princess Beatrice was polite and committed, but unlike her father, she was obviously anxious for the meeting and was clearly there to protect her interests.
“I had heard he was close to the queen. I felt that the prince’s eldest daughter was now the person who could make the difference between getting the interview or not.”