The fall-out from Andrew鈥檚 Newsnight appearance has already begun, with the Outward Bound Trust, which the duke supports as patron, saying it will hold a board meeting in the next few days when members will discuss issues raised by Saturday鈥檚 interview.
KPMG鈥檚 sponsorship contract with Andrew鈥檚 Pitch@Palace, a mentoring scheme for tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, expired at the end of October and will not be renewed.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca told the Daily Telegraph it is also reviewing its future with the mentoring scheme: 鈥淥ur three-year partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire at the end of this year and is currently being reviewed.鈥
The student jury at Huddersfield University, where Andrew is chancellor, passed a motion to lobby the duke to resign.
Andrew鈥檚 appearance on Newsnight, where he was questioned by presenter Emily Maitlis, to explain his friendship with the convicted sex offender and deny allegations of having sex with an under-age teenager has been widely condemned, but the duke is said to being standing by his decision to put his side of the story.
However, the duke鈥檚 interview on Saturday has been widely criticised, with commentators questioning his responses and condemning his unsympathetic tone and seeming lack of remorse over the friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in jail while facing sex trafficking charges.
Here three public relations experts look at how the Prince could have handled it all differently.
John Underwood, executive director at Freshwater:
Andrew鈥檚 problem was that he came across as somebody with a certain born-to-rule arrogance and a man who was out of touch with the spirit and mood of the moment.聽 If you don鈥檛 understand the growing need to share and feel the pain of victims, where have you been for the last few years?
Of course, it鈥檚 difficult for people living in a rarefied atmosphere to be completely in touch with the public zeitgeist and even more difficult if you are the 鈥渟pare鈥 royal struggling to carve out a meaningful role for yourself, but that鈥檚 where professional advisers come in.聽 The old adage of PR used to be 鈥渘ever complain, never explain鈥.聽 Today it might more appropriately be 鈥渄on鈥檛 buy a dog and bark yourself鈥.聽 If you have good PR advisers 鈥 and Jason Stein, Prince Andrew鈥檚 erstwhile adviser, was very good 鈥 you should listen to them and have a first-rate reason for ignoring their advice.
Did Andrew think he could seize the opportunity of getting an interview on the record and it would then swiftly drop from the headlines during a febrile election campaign?聽 If he did, he should at least have insisted it went out during the week rather than at the weekend.
Did he prepare adequately?聽 Clearly not.聽 There was no strong narrative and no clarity of message.
In the end this performance was barely believable, hardly authentic and not even plausible.
If the Royal family is to overcome the internal feuds, the damaging leaks and the car crash interviews it needs an experienced big hitter with an overarching royal remit to instil some message discipline.
Sara Robinson, Communications Consultant
During a crisis, a media interview can be a good opportunity to tell your side of the story. But done this badly, it can only serve to pour oil onto an already-raging fire.
This was a car crash of a TV interview. It gave the distinct impression that the Prince had either been railroaded into doing it, or 鈥 as insider talk suggests 鈥 that he agreed to it against the wise counsel of his people, naively believing it would do his reputation good. Either way, it was the wrong judgement call to send him up against Emily Maitlis. She is a brilliant interviewer who has honed her skills grilling countless politicians and world leaders over the years. She will have spent a huge amount of time thinking of ways she could cross examine him in a way that would give him enough rope to hang himself. By stark contrast, the Prince seemed ill-prepared, and almost blas茅 at times.
A good crisis media interview should always include compassion, demonstrate action and provide reassurance. The audience wants to see that you understand the gravity of whatever has gone wrong, and the impact it has had. They want to know what steps you have taken to resolve the situation, and they want to be reassured it won鈥檛 happen again. This interview ticked none of those boxes.
There was no empathy for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, or even acknowledgement of their plight. The Prince didn鈥檛 seem remotely aware of the seriousness of the crimes and allegations involved, or keen to learn from his mistakes.
He was overtly defensive, and some of his ramblings leaned on the wrong side of bizarre. Up against the very best of TV interviewers, he failed to give an account of himself that seemed in any way authentic or grounded in genuine contrition. It looked like a cynical PR move designed to repair a reputation that鈥檚 being diminished by the day.
Executed that badly, it only served to make a crisis situation far, far worse.
Daniel Tyte, managing director Working Word
It鈥檚 important to make the distinction that this isn鈥檛 a PR crisis, it鈥檚 a human crisis.聽 The crimes Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of have horrific consequences for the individuals involved.聽 If Andrew maintained a relationship with Epstein after these convictions, as photographic evidence appears to show, no amount of media management could make that easier for him.聽 Allegations made against Andrew had been denied by the Palace, but these statements needed a human voice.聽 Unfortunately for the Palace, that human voice was Andrew鈥檚.
Jacob Stein, the Prince鈥檚 PR advisor stepped down after advising against the interview and the lack of strategic advice showed in Andrew鈥檚 approach and answers. The situation he鈥檚 found himself embroiled in has many victims, but there was only one Andrew was concerned with- himself.聽 To show no contrition for the friendship with Epstein or sorrow for the hurt caused to individuals wasn鈥檛 just a bad PR move, but a grave human error and an illuminating one on what he deemed important.
The claims around sweating and a provincial pizza restaurant may well be true, but in the internet age, they鈥檙e ripe for memes.聽
This may seem inconsequential when serious issues are at stake, but nothing spreads like humour online and their improbability made Andrew鈥檚 defence seem ridiculous instead of robust, even if a doctor and waiter can confirm otherwise.聽
Similarly the reasoning that he only wears suits in London and is careful about having his photo taken in public displays of affection have been debunked over and over on social networks. Senior level PR advice would have coached Andrew to think of the consequences of every answer.
Where does he go from here? If he鈥檚 telling the truth, he should have no hesitation in answering similar questions under oath.
