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FIRST PERSON

What really happened in Prince Andrew’s interview — and the part I played

When top photographer Mark Harrison was sent to shoot the Duke of York’s Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis — now the subject of Netflix drama Scoop — he had no idea what was about to unfold

The Duke of York and Emily Maitlis in Buckingham Palace, November 14, 2019. “I thought the security services were going to turn up and say, ‘Give us your memory cards’”
The Duke of York and Emily Maitlis in Buckingham Palace, November 14, 2019. “I thought the security services were going to turn up and say, ‘Give us your memory cards’”
MARK HARRISON/CAMERA PRESS
Mark Harrison
The Times

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In my 36 years as a photographer, I’ve shot hundreds of celebrities, everyone from Sir Tony Blair to Kate Moss and Sir David Attenborough. I once turned up at Abbey Road Studios for a shoot without knowing whom I was photographing. Suddenly I was in the room with Margaret Thatcher, just after she had been dethroned as prime minister.

But my biggest job was taking pictures at Newsnight’s interview with Prince Andrew. The Andrew interview was not just a news story for that day — it was a news story for a week, and it still is, more than four years on. Looking back, I am amazed that we were all allowed to leave the Palace that day without somebody saying, “This has