Leaving a glitzy private club, Prince Andrew appears to have regained some of his former arrogance.
Our exclusive pictures reveal how, despite the imminent release of a Netflix film about his disastrous Newsnight interview, the Duke of York enjoyed lunch with his close friend and former business partner, billionaire sports magnate Johan Eliasch.
Their meeting earlier this month at Harry’s Bar in Mayfair, central London, will fuel speculation that Andrew is determined to end his internal exile and rehabilitate his public image. It also raises the possibility that cash-strapped Andrew is contemplating a new business venture.
Worth an estimated £3.8bn, Eliasch was a director of the Prince’s flagship business venture, the Dragons’ Den-style initiative Pitch@Palace, but stepped down in 2021.
The company was left in chaos after Prince Andrew’s interview on Newsnight in November 2019 about his relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Leaving a glitzy private club, Prince Andrew appears to have regained some of his former arrogance.
Our exclusive pictures reveal how the Duke of York enjoyed lunch with his close friend and former business partner, billionaire sports magnate Johan Eliasch (pictured)
Their meeting earlier this month at Harry’s Bar in Mayfair, central London, will fuel speculation that Andrew is determined to end his internal exile and rehabilitate his public image.
Prince Andrew has rarely been seen outside of Windsor Great Park, where he lives in the 30-room Royal Lodge mansion, amid the fallout from the scandal over his friendship with Epstein.
In 2022, Andrew paid £12 million to settle a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, 40, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 after Epstein trafficked her. Andrew vehemently rejects her claims.
The Duke is now preparing for the release of Netflix’s Scoop on Friday, a dramatization of the Newsnight interview. In another blow, rival streaming giant Amazon is planning its own three-part series about the interview.
Despite this, Andrew appeared to be a man on a mission as he left Harry’s Bar shortly before 3pm on March 19.
“Andrew definitely wasn’t hiding,” said one viewer.
“The doorman took off his hat as he came out and Andrew greeted him and then headed to his car. He didn’t care who saw him. He seemed optimistic that he was back in central London.
One of the spectators saw the doorman waving his hat to Andrew as he left.
Andrew appeared to be a man on a mission as he left Harry’s Bar shortly before 3pm on March 19.
The prince appeared to be looking over his shoulder as he left the elegant restaurant.
The duke was having lunch with one of his few loyal friends who have supported him.
Andrew and Eliasch did not respond to a request for comment after they were seen at lunch.
“Andrew definitely wasn’t hiding,” said one viewer.
The prince has rarely been seen in public since his Newsnight interview.
The prince has been preparing for the release of Scoop, the Netflix drama about his nightmare BBC interview.
The prince was photographed walking towards his car.
The prince is now rarely seen in public.
Andrew walked quickly to his car before leaving after lunch.
The prince was wearing a lunch suit.
Andrew also seemed to have sausage fingers like his older brother, King Charles.
Andrew headed to a waiting Range Rover.
The Duke is now preparing for the release of Netflix’s Scoop on Friday (starring Gillian Anderson, left), a dramatization of his infamous 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Matlis (right).
The interview is widely considered the most disastrous in true history.
Prince Andrew has rarely been seen outside of Windsor Great Park (pictured), where he lives in the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge mansion, amid the fallout from the scandal over his friendship with Epstein.
Prince Andrew has been a public pariah following his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The couple photographed in New York’s Central Park in 2011.
Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell posing for a photo. The photograph is said to have been taken in London in 2001.
In 2022, Andrew paid £12 million to settle a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre (pictured), 40, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 after Epstein trafficked her. Andrew vehemently rejects her claims.
Andrew and Eliasch, Swedish director of sports equipment company Head, have been friends since a charity tennis tournament at Buckingham Palace in 2000.
The following year, while a guest of Mr Eliasch and his then-wife Amanda, Andrew was photographed on a yacht off Thailand cavorting with topless women.
Eliasch remains one of the few loyal friends who have supported the duke.
In August 2019, two weeks after Epstein’s death, Eliasch defended Andrew, saying: “Anyone who knows the duke well knows that he is intensely loyal to his friends and sometimes that loyalty is not in his best interest.”
Later that year, it emerged that Andrew and Eliasch had quietly created a company together called Naples Gold. The firm was dissolved in 2021.
Andrew and Eliasch did not respond to a request for comment.