Emily Maitlis, the host of Newsnight, was recently named the Presenter of the Year at the Royal Television Society Awards. She won the honors for her explosive BBC interview with Prince Andrew last November.
The Duke of York was grilled in the said interview about his ties to the deceased billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Maitlis' Newsnight also bagged the Daily News Programme of the Year.
Prince Andrew was forced to resign from his royal duties due to the interview backlash. Critics of the Duke of York branded the tell-all as car crash that worsened public perception about his friendship with a convicted paedophile.
The royal was named in a legal case against Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking in the U.S. Courts. Epstein, however, took his own life while awaiting trial in prison last August 2019.
Prince Andrew said in the interview that he wanted some form of closure so he decided to talk to Maitlis. The royal said that he symphatized with the victims but he didn't feel remorseful about his friendship with Epstein.
Royal observers said that Prince Andrew's scandal has become a major disruption for the royal family. After he resigned from his post, the Duke of York has been scaling back on his public appearances to avoid media scrutiny.
As a result, Prince Andrew celebrated his 60th birthday last Feb. 19 quietly at his home in Windsor instead of having a grand celebration at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth apparently canceled his milestone party amid his controversy.
His siblings Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward also reportedly snubbed Prince Andrew's birthday bash. According to sources, none of his brothers or sister were at the small-scaled party at his home. Only 50 guests were apparently in attendance at Prince Andrew's milestone birthday, which included his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
In May, however, Prince Andrew will not be able to hide from the media as his eldest daughter is set to walk down the aisle. Prince Andrew will reportedly walk Princess Beatrice on her wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The wedding on May 29 will not be carried out on live television unlike other royal weddings. Princess Beatrice will also have a hush-hush ceremony with less than 200 people in the The Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace.
Queen Elizabeth, however, has offered her garden in Buckingham Palace for the wedding reception. It is understood that Princess Beatrice wanted a destination wedding originally, to keep the media off, but decided to proceed with a London ceremony for her aging grandparents.
