Prince Andrew is apparently enjoying a care-free weekend following the premiere of the new Netflix film, Scoop.
On Friday, April 5, hours after the film centered around Prince Andrew's infamous 2019 BBC interview premiered, the Duke of York was spotted horseback riding in Windsor, England.
The embattled royal was wearing a navy turtleneck and slacks at the time, which he paired with an olive green jacket and a black riding helmet (safety first). The prince even waved at nearby onlookers.
The newly-released film documents how BBC producer Sam McAlister secured the highly sought-after interview with the royal after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and later found dead in a Manhattan jail.
In an exclusive interview with People, McAlister discussed a "curveball of curveballs" moment depicted in the film, in which BBC producers and reporters met with Prince Andrew to secure the Newsnight interview.
"That meeting was just extraordinary, because obviously, you prep so much for a meeting of this importance, in Buckingham Palace, negotiating for an interview that was now the most sought-after conversation in journalism. And there was a real curveball moment," McAlister told the publication.
"We had been going to meet Prince Andrew and his chief of staff, Amanda Thirsk—played by Keeley Hawes in our movie—and then curveball of curveballs, he brought someone with him," McAlister continued. "Now, I'm thinking it's going to be a lawyer or a comms person and things are going to be over. But in fact, it was his daughter, Princess Beatrice."
Journalist Emily Maitlis went on to interview the Duke of York on Nov. 14, in the South Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace. The pair discussed the Duke of York's links to Epstein and allegations that he had sexually assaulted a minor, Virginia Guiffre, when she was 17.
During the interview, Prince Andrew denied Giuffre's allegations and claim that he had danced with and bought drinks for Guiffre at a nightclub, insisting that at the time of the alleged incident he had "taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express" for a "party" at "four or five in the afternoon."
When pressed as to why he continued to spend time with Epstein after he pled guilty to criminal charges for "procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution" in 2008, Prince Andrew said Epstein's home was simply a "convenient place to stay."
In 2022, Prince Andrew settled with Giuffree out of court.
Days after the infamous 2019 BBC interview aired, Prince Andrew stepped away from his royal duties and was eventually stripped of his military titles by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth. He continues to deny Guiffre's allegations.
