“I guess the question we’re asking ourselves now is, has it reset the shape of the monarchy in any form?”: Michael Sheen, Emily Maitlis and Ruth Wilson on A Very Royal Scandal

Following on from Hugh Grant’s menacing portrayal of Jeremy Thorpe in A Very English Scandal and Claire Foy and Paul Bettany’s performances as the Duchess and Duke of Argyll in A Very British Scandal, the Amazon miniseries is back. This time, Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson are on board to play Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis in A Very Royal Scandal, a dramatisation of the disastrous Newsnight interview that spawned countless memes and led to the Duke of York being stripped of his royal privileges.

For Wilson, the project was a daunting, albeit thoroughly compelling opportunity. “I’ve never played anyone involved in that world,” she explained. “I watched the interview when it came out in 2019. I watched it with a group of friends, some of them who are here tonight, and we were gobsmacked by it. I mean, it was the best piece of drama on TV.”

The original Newsnight interview was indeed an iconic moment in television history, painting erstwhile war hero Prince Andrew in a decidedly less favourable light. Since his sit-down with Maitlis and the events that followed – namely his multimillion-pound settlement with accuser and Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre – the prince has become persona non grata, belittled and reviled for his alleged transgressions. As such, being able to offer a semblance of humanity to such a divisive figure was no seamless feat for Sheen. “Whenever I’ve played a character based on a real-life person, first and foremost, I’m looking for, where’s the point of connection? Where’s the thing that suddenly hooks me in somehow?” said Sheen. “And it was the footage of Andrew when he came back from the Falklands on the dockside with the rose in his mouth, and thinking, ‘That’s about as good a moment as you’re ever going to get, the brave conquering hero returning…and everyone thinks you’re great.’ And it was sort of downhill from there, wasn’t it? And that journey was my hook in.”

The drama shines a light on a question that’s undoubtedly been on the lips of everyone who sat down in front of their television on that fateful night in November 2019: what on earth was Prince Andrew thinking? As the series explores the succession of events that led the prince to fumble and flail his way through Maitlis’s questioning, viewers are offered some pertinent insights into his psyche. Serving as executive producer, Maitlis explained that she’s still ruminating on the elusive royal’s gaffes six years later. “I guess the question that we’re asking ourselves now is, has it reset the shape of the monarchy in any form?” said the journalist. “For example, I mean, somebody who saw this last week said to me, ‘I’ve just suddenly realised that one of the Queen’s last big decisions was to let Andrew do that interview, had her blessing.’ We know that and you have to sort of wonder if there are people around King Charles who said, ‘Was that the right decision? Was it bad?’”

Sheen was a big fan of Jeremy Brock’s script, finding it both challenging and engaging. “So, I read the script, and if it really compels me and captivates me and kind of makes me ask questions and challenges me and all that kind of stuff, then that’s good,” he reflected. Meanwhile, he was overjoyed at being able to work alongside Wilson “who I’m a huge fan of, and if at all, possibly more a fan of now. And the team. Obviously, with Emily being involved, that makes you feel like we’re in safe hands here.” Testament to the power of cutting journalism, A Very Royal Scandal is an ode to the art of asking the tough questions.

Antonia Georgiou

A Very Royal Scandal is released on Prime Video on 19^th September 2024.

Watch the trailer for A Very Royal Scandal here: