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Ah, this ain’t it. Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley has drawn the ire of social media on Monday, after he stated that the time might have to come to ‘cut Prince Andrew some slack’. His comments have gone down like a lead balloon.
ALSO READ: Prince Andrew named in court documents relating to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
In an exchange on the programme, with Kwasi Kwarteng also appearing as a studio guest, the panel were responding to the news that a photo of Prince Andrew with Emily Maitlis – who conducted *that* infamous interview with him in 2019 – would be submitted to the National Gallery.
The royal pariah was grilled about his association with Jeffrey Epstein by the former Newsnight host, who asked him a series of probing questions about their friendship. Prince Andrew failed almost every test, coming up with some puzzling retorts in the process.
Among other things, he claimed that he ‘could no longer sweat’ due to his time served in the Falklands. At the heart of the allegations, he was said to have engaged in sexual contact with at least one underage girl. His accuser, Victoria Giuffre, even took him to court.
Eventually, a settlement of £12 million was agreed, sparing Prince Andrew from further criminal proceedings. However, a black mark has remained permanently against his name – and its understood that King Charles is now considering evicting him from royal residence.
These developments prompted Richard Madeley to play devil’s advocate this morning – but he may have leaned too far into the role. Framing it as a question, the TV veteran suggested that it may now be time for the British public to ‘lay off’ the beleaguered figure.
Madeley argued that Prince Andrew had already ‘received so much stick’ for his interview, and that the National Gallery submission would merely ‘rub his face in it’. Seemingly failing to grasp the scale of his alleged actions, he openly wondered if the prince had ‘suffered enough’.
Kwasi Kwarteng also offered some mild sympathies, explaining that coverage of Prince Andrew and liaisons with Jeffrey Epstein has now been ‘flogged to death’. However, the pair could well have misjudged the mood of wider society on this matter…
