The key phrase Emily Maitlis used to break arrogant Prince Andrew in that Newsnight interview, claims body language pro
PRINCE Andrew’s ‘car crash’ Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis hit headlines with his claims that he couldn’t sweat and Pizza Express being used for an alibi.
Body language expert Judi James has revealed the key phrase journalist Emily Maitlis used to break the Duke of York during the infamous 2019 chat.
The Duke used the interview to address his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and deny having sex with 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.
Speaking to Fabulous, Judi shared: “Andrew’s body language during this interview suggests a man suffering from a sense of arrogance and entitlement fuelled by profound naivete.”
The body language professional pin-pointed the moment that Emily “dramatically changed his state” during her questioning by using a legal-sounding phrase.
Judi continued: “Andrew’s body language mood of regal authority and superiority changes dramatically to one of wariness and fear at the point when Emily uses the legal-sounding phrase ‘Just for the record…’ before becoming specific about pinning Andrew down on dates.
“She mentions a date ‘In 2006 in May’ and Andrew’s composure breaks.
“His eyes narrow in wariness but then roll dramatically in performed surprise or acted exasperation.
“Emily mentions Epstein’s arrest warrant for sexual assault and now Andrew’s head tilts back as though he’d felt a punch from the words.
“His first barrier ritual hints at self-protection as he lifts his hand to his face and places his finger across his chin to rub it and he performs a classic tongue-poke gesture of rejection or disgust.”
Judi shared how there were two other moments where it “all went wrong” for Prince Andrew during the Newsnight chat.
Change of state
She shared how she observed his behaviour change after he spoke about the time spent with Epstein after his conviction.
Andrew’s body language mood of regal authority and superiority changes dramatically to one of wariness and fear at the point when Emily uses the legal-sounding phrase ‘Just for the record…’ before becoming specific about pinning Andrew down on dates
Judi James
Andrew defended his relationship with Epstein, saying that knowing the financier had “some seriously beneficial outcomes”, but added that his reason for meeting him in 2010 was to “put an end to the friendship”.
Judi explained: “Not only does he attempt to take back control in the interview here by using his index fingers like a baton to conduct the action, he then moves into an expression of ironic humour which he seems to think is adorably self-effacing.
“His sigh of exasperation at being asked why he stayed at ‘the home of a convicted sex offender’ turns into a rather artful, crafty facial expression as he screws his features up, winces with one eye and performs a head and brow shrug before puckering his brows and his lips an a smug-looking smile of inner amusement, turning his ‘too honourable’ line into a mock question to Emily with a deep frowning stare at his ‘revealed weakness’.
“Someone should have warned him to never take an audience for fools but he clearly felt compelled to twist negative behaviour into what he was over-selling as an adorable personality trait.”
Andrew's infamous Newsnight interview
PRINCE Andrew's painful Newsnight interview in November 2019 saw him grilled over his links with dead paedo Jeffrey Epstein, his pal Ghislaine Maxwell and allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old.
During the interview, Andrew said he had “no recollection” of meeting Virginia Giuffre – who he is alleged to have had sex with at Maxwell’s house in London.
He even provided an “alibi” claiming that the night the alleged encounter took place he was at a Pizza Express birthday party in Woking with his daughter Princess Beatrice.
Epstein committed suicide in a jail cell in August 2019, just a month after he was arrested for sex trafficking minors.
A flood of horrific accounts of his abuse of young girls then followed.
In 2022, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was jailed for 20 years for abusing and grooming dozens of girls for twisted Epstein.
The convicted sex trafficker and Andrew would allegedly flirt with each other when they hung out together on Epstein’s notorious Caribbean island Little St James, the former housekeeper has claimed.
After Maxwell’s sentence, the Duke of York was said to be the lawyers’ “next target” of a probe into the sex ring controlled by multimillionaire paedophile Epstein.
The Duke agreed to a £12million settlement with sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre in February 2022.
Weak excuses
The third moment Prince Andrew appeared affected by the interview – according to Judi – was when he gave the excuse that he could not have “sweated profusely”, as was claimed, due to a medical condition he said he developed while serving in the Falklands War as a Navy helicopter pilot.
Judi shared: “Andrew is at his weakest when he shows signs of feeling he was being smart and confident while looking almost cunning.
“His ‘I don’t sweat’ excuse showed off his total lack of ability to read the room, any room.
“His projectile laugh announces his mockery of the claim he was sweating in Tramp nightclub and he holds his hand up in a gesture of re-booted control as he interrupts Emily to go into one of the most awkward moments of the interview.
“His finger pinch seems to try to suggest precise thought for this point as his brows pucker.
“As he clumsily ‘reminds’ Emily and the viewers of his ‘hero’ status in a ‘do you know who I am?’ moment his brows steeple as he fixes Emily with a hard stare.
“His finger points as though writing in the air but his body language becomes incongruent here. “
The bombshell appearance has been dramatised in an upcoming Amazon Prime series A Very Royal Scandal, which is being released tonight.
'There is no way back for Prince Andrew', claims PR guru
PRINCE Andrew’s reputation is damaged beyond repair and he will never be able to engineer a return to public life, according to one of Britain’s top PR gurus.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede, who runs East of Eden PR agency, called the shamed royal “deluded” for thinking he could ever return to royal duties and urged him to give up and ‘enjoy his life’ in exile.
It follows the release of Scoop – a Netflix movie based on the 2019 interview he gave to Newsnight.
Nick said: “There is no way back for him.
“I think you know this perpetual idea that he could still be back. Nobody cares. He hasn’t got fans.
“There’s nobody out there who’s going ‘We want to see Prince Andrew’, not one single person. I think he has to realise that. But I think it’s going to take a long, long time for him to actually understand. It’s very deluded.
“In my opinion, the best thing that he could do is just enjoy his life. He’s got gorgeous daughters. He has a great relationship with Fergie, he has a lovely house.
“Just live a quiet life.”
Reflecting on the interview five years ago – the fallout of which saw Andrew step back from royal duties “for the foreseeable future” – Nick compared the fallout to Frost vs Nixon and said he would have urged him not to do it.
He said: “If I had been advising him, I would say, go quiet, be quiet, just go to ground. You know you’re a prince. Enjoy the life that you lead, but do not open this can of worms, because that’s what it is.
“There was no admission that a relationship with somebody like Epstein was terribly toxic. There was no idea that there were loads of victims of trafficking whose lives were completely ruined by Epstein. He didn’t seem to think that the association he had with that man was anything but positive.
“I think his worst gaffe was obviously being in that interview and agreeing to it in the first place, for not realising that he’s actually going to be interviewed by a very, very good journalist who is going to ask him questions which he might not like.
“But I think what this has done is really shown how archaic Prince Andrew is in his opinions and thoughts.
“Read the room. He’s never read a room at all.”