Princess Beatrice regrets setting up Prince Andrew's trainwreck interview and ‘hasn’t stopped crying’ since: 'She was hoping he would clear his name'
Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, and his daughter Princess Beatrice were reportedly among the key figures who pushed the disgraced royal to clear his name on last weekend's trainwreck BBC interview.
The Duchess of York was determined to end the speculation about her former husband's involvement with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein before their daughter Beatrice ties the knot with property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi next year, according to a Daily Mail report.
If the Duke would speak to the public in his own words regarding the scandal, they would be convinced he was telling the truth, Fergie reportedly believed.
However, things couldn't have gone worse for Andrew, who was forced to step down from royal duties after his disastrous performance in the interview.
While Fergie was abroad when the details of the interview were being finalized with the Newsnight team, the 31-year-old Beatrice was present for the meetings along with Amanda Thirsk, Andrew's then-private secretary.
Three days before filming, both Beatrice and Andrew met with Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis and the program's deputy editor Stewart Maclean at Buckingham Palace to discuss the breadth of the interview.
"Sarah [Ferguson] was abroad so Beatrice sat in on the discussions. Initially, Beatrice was skeptical that a television interview, which would inevitably delve into her father's private life, was such a good idea. She was asking lots of pertinent questions and had her doubts," an insider said.
"But by the end of the meeting, she was convinced by the Newsnight team and Amanda Thirsk that they had no choice – that it was the only way to put all the rumors behind them."
"It was clear that Fergie was always there in the background," they added.
However, the Prince was reportedly so out-of-touch from reality that after the interview was recorded before its Saturday broadcast, he felt it had gone really well.
The Yorks were looking forward to the interview being aired as soon as possible, and the Prince confirmed to friends that his former wife had pushed him to participate in the program.
However, the source claimed that Beatrice now regrets letting the interview go ahead, especially now that it casts an even greater shadow over her wedding celebrations.
Furthermore, her younger sister Eugenie is also left in a difficult position with regard to their future roles as functioning princesses.
"Even though she's their daughter, both Sarah and Andrew rely on Beatrice's judgment a lot when it comes to dealing with the public as she's got an old head on young shoulders," the source said.
"You can’t really blame Beatrice because I think the odds were stacked against her on this one," they added. "Andrew, Fergie and Amanda decided they had to do it."