Prince Andrew and When to Stay Quiet
Image courtesy of BBC News
No matter how you feel about Britain’s royal family, it was a sad day last week to see former Prince Andrew formally arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Even that small measure of justice for the victims is offset by the heinous abuse they allegedly suffered at the hands of some of the world’s most powerful people.
The arrest is the latest chapter in a drama that led to the downfall of one of the royal family’s most popular members, and has presented a stern test for Andrew’s brother, King Charles, in his efforts to safeguard his family’s reputation while holding fast to the rule of law.
Hubris
But the episode also recalled a disastrous interview Andrew conducted with the BBC in 2019, just two months after Epstein allegedly committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Apparently the then-prince believed he could charm the public and rehabilitate his reputation.
Most observers at the time believed Andrew came off appearing aloof and insensitive, such as when he characterized Epstein’s abhorrent behavior as “unbecoming.” In fact, many of the claims he made have since been proven untrue – that he didn’t know one of Epstein’s most vocal accusers, or that he cut ties with Epstein a year after he served his jail sentence for prostitution.
All of which begs the question: why consent to such a potentially damaging interview?
Lose the Battle, Win the War
I’ve been involved in dozens of crisis scenarios and worked with numerous organizations that were reluctant to be interviewed by journalists under such glaring scrutiny. Each time I counseled them that, while they may not be able to make a harmful situation magically disappear, there might still be important reasons for telling their side of the story.
Some years ago I was working with the nation’s largest chain of behavioral health facilities, which was under investigation by legendary “60 Minutes” correspondent Ed Bradley over a series of patient deaths due to improper restraint techniques at their hospitals. Producers had captured damning – and highly controversial – undercover video footage questioning not only the chain’s safety and training protocols, but also its for-profit motivation.
The company’s leadership and its attorneys initially didn’t want to go on camera, believing doing so would validate the story’s claims and weaken its ability to defend multiple civil suits. But the facts of what happened weren’t in dispute; the question then was, what are you going to do about it?
After considerable discussion, it was agreed that nothing short of the long-term viability of the company was at risk. While the short-term pain of embarrassing media coverage and potential courtroom losses could indeed be costly, that paled in comparison to the destruction caused by a loss of confidence among employees, investors, regulators and referral sources.
We conducted three days of exhaustive media training with the company’s CEO, helping him acknowledge the mistakes made with empathy for the victims and their families while underscoring the many changes being made in the name of safety. The resulting story was far from balanced, but it allowed the company to demonstrate the three characteristics needed to move forward in times of crisis: transparency, accountability and responsiveness.
Andrew’s BBC interview denials failed to provide any measure of transparency or accountability. More importantly, he offered no remedy to provide healing for the victims or the nation he was born to represent. Weeks after the horrific interview Andrew removed himself from the public spotlight, and subsequently was stripped of his royal titles prior to last week’s arrest.
In hindsight, Andrew shouldn’t have done the interview unless he was prepared to own up to his actions and step down from his royal perch for the sake of the country. As the old saying goes, if you don’t have anything good to say, sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all.
# # #
Truth Advisors LLC provides senior-level communications and reputation management counsel to companies facing seismic change. For a free, no-obligation assessment of how we can level up your organization’s strategic communications efforts, contact us at info@startwithtruth.com.