Prince Andrew has "little to hope for" as he prepares for a fresh round of scrutiny as Amazon Prime prepares to release "A Very Royal Scandal", a dramatisation of his infamous 2019 Newsnight interview.
The three-part series, premiering tomorrow, promises to offer fresh insights into the controversial Prince Andrew interview from the point of view of journalist Emily Maitlis.Speaking to GB News about the upcoming series, Michael Cole said: "Prince Andrew has very little to hope for from this programme. It will not in any way redeem him, and once more it will be putting him under the spotlight.
"And it will be a very searching and revealing and really quite damaging experience for him."
A Very Royal Scandal will sensationalise Prince Andrew's 2019 Newsnight interviewGettyCole suggested the portrayal will be "even more disastrous" than the earlier Netflix production "Scoop".
He added: "The Prince is going to be portrayed in a very negative way by the actor Michael Sheen from from South Wales.
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"He's portraying him as a very arrogant, rude, uncompromisingly and a very unpleasant person.
"I think the portrait that will emerge will be even more disastrous than the one which was played by Rufus Sewell in an earlier program which dealt with this subject, which was called Scoop.
This will be more thoroughgoing, and it will be seen entirely from the point of view of Emily Maitlis, the news presenter who is one of the executive producers on this programme.
"So you can bet your life that it will reflect very much her recollection of the time, how it happened, why it happened and the consequences, which of course were dire for Prince Andrew. Ever since he's had a half life."
Michael Cole told GBNA this could be "disastrous" for the duke
GBNA
This comes at a challenging time for Prince Andrew, who faces ongoing tensions with King Charles.
The monarch reportedly wishes to move Andrew from the Royal Lodge to the smaller Frogmore Cottage once occupied by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The Duke has maintained a low profile. He was recently spotted horse riding in Windsor Great Park, his first public appearance in months.
The upcoming Amazon series is likely to reignite public interest in the scandal, potentially causing further distress for the royal.
Prince Andrew was interviewed by Emily Maitlis on Newsnight in 2019PAIn the original 2019 interview, Prince Andrew vigorously denied allegations of sexual assault involving Virginia Giuffre.
He claimed to have "no recollection of ever meeting" her and questioned the authenticity of a photograph showing them together.
The Duke's defence of his friendship with Epstein and failure to mention the convicted sex offender's victims drew widespread criticism.