Prince Andrew was left "delighted" with Netflix's portrayal of him in a new film, friends of the Duke of York have claimed.
Scoop, the new Netflix film, dramatised the 2019 BBC Newsnight interview that precipitated Prince Andrew's withdrawal from public life.
The interview, conducted by Emily Maitlis, famously included Andrew’s denial of sweating and his trip to Pizza Express with Princess Beatrice as an alibi.
However, friends of the Duke of York have confirmed that Andrew was pleasantly surprised with Rufus Sewell's portrayal of him in the film.
Rufus Sewell played Prince Andrew in the Netflix film
Getty / Netflix
Although the duke was sometimes portrayed as a vain buffoon in the new film, he believes his hard work was accurately shown before he was forced to step down as a working royal.
Prince Andrew ran Pitch@Palace from 2014 to 2019, a platform to "amplify and accelerate the work of entrepreneurs".
This was shown at the beginning of Scoop before Newsnight producer Sam McAlister began approaching Buckingham Palace for an interview.
A friend of Andrew’s who has spoken to the prince since the film was released said: “Obviously Andrew regrets doing the interview, and if he had his time again he wouldn’t do it. That said, he feels Scoop is much more even-handed than he expected."
Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell playing Maitlis and the prince in the Netflix film ScoopNetflixThey continued to tell The Daily Beast: "It’s fair to say he was delighted by Rufus Sewell’s portrayal of him.”
A friend of the King and Queen said that Charles, who is battling cancer, was “vanishingly unlikely” to have watched Scoop.
King Charles regards the “Andrew question” as “settled,” and that there is no way back to an official public role for Andrew.
However, he will continue to be welcomed at non-state, family occasions.
The Duke of York speaking during a Pitch@Palace event in 2018
PA
LATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Prince Andrew was stripped of his military titles and patronages in 2022GettyThe new Netflix film is based on the book Scoops by former Newsnight talent booker Sam McAlister.
Actress Billie Piper played McAlister as she managed to book Prince Andrew to appear on the BBC programme.
The film is from McAlister’s point of view, and her talents and persistence are central to securing the interview.
A second project on the Newsnight interview, titled A Very Royal Scandal, is set to drop on Amazon Prime later this year, with Maitlis serving as executive producer.