A photographer who found himself alone in a room with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has claimed the former royal "looked through" him for around 40 minutes. Mark Harrison, who was tasked with photographing Andrew's BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, described the encounter in a YouTube interview.
Top-secret assignment
In 2019, Harrison received a mysterious phone call asking whether he was available for a top-secret assignment. The following day, having signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), he found himself sitting in a café directly opposite Buckingham Palace. He then received a second, pivotal call instructing him to enter the palace through a back entrance.
Harrison soon discovered that the job was to photograph the BBC Newsnight interview with then-Prince Andrew, conducted by Emily Maitlis. During the now-notorious interview, Maitlis questioned Andrew about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Behaviour before the interview
In the aftermath, Andrew stepped back from his royal duties, marking the beginning of a dramatic fall from grace that ultimately culminated in his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He has also successfully challenged Thames Valley Police over search warrants used to raid his residences, with the force acknowledging that the warrants were unlawful.
Harrison shed light on the former royal's behaviour in the hours before the interview, revealing that Andrew arrived at the palace early, before Maitlis had arrived. Speaking to the Fred and Harry Borden channel on YouTube, he said: "He greets us all. It's all smiles, all wonderful. And he takes us on a tour down the corridor, and he explains about the tall pillars that are in the marble hall, where they came from, how much they cost."
Alone with Andrew
Harrison said that telling experienced BBC staff "about sound" was not something he "would have done" had he been in Andrew's position. As the crew prepared for the interview, Harrison found himself alone in a room with the former prince. "The crew sort of go and set up another shot and I'm left in this room with Andrew in this huge room on my own. And he has looked through me for the last 40 minutes, I'd say, like I am invisible, like I'm a ghost."
Harrison suggested that the former Duke of York might have what he described as an "invisibility thing", whereby "little people are not worth looking at". He added that Andrew had "literally looked through" him. Eventually, Harrison decided to break the silence. He checked royal protocol on how to address Andrew before introducing himself as the photographer. He claimed the former prince appeared "totally shocked" when he approached him. "And he looked like a light bulb had gone off. He looked totally shocked even that somebody was approaching him. And so we shook hands, and he said, 'What are the pictures for?' And I went, 'I have no idea'."
Maitlis arrived shortly afterwards to conduct what would become one of the most significant interviews of Andrew's life.
