It is almost impossible to explain just how big the Prince Andrew interview is in Britain, and that is the problem.

It’s bigger than it should have been, the story now is bigger than the interview, and it’s bigger than it should have been because it is worse than it should have been.

The first issue is that he not defend himself to a point where the public could at least walk away with a black and white reaction – I believe him / I don’t believe him.

That is yet another reason why he should not have ever come within a million miles of even considering such a thing. The best he could ever have hoped for was a sympathetic hearing and perhaps the persuasion of some wavering, interested onlookers.

The Queen is said to be furious; who can possibly blame her? His chief PR aide has quit. I cannot find a single person saying this was a good idea, or at the very least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, because it clearly is.

The British press have gone to town, and they’ve gone to town because he brought all this on himself in what would appear to be a brain explosion of historic proportions.

This, as is the Epstein saga, could well have died with Epstein. It was messy, it was uncomfortable, but like all issues of its ilk it had largely gone away.

Yes, the accusations were still floating about, but if you compare their coverage to this coverage and the ensuing coverage it is night and day. Andrew is now going to be haunted by this; he has unleashed the dogs ,and the dogs wont rest until they have a carcass.  

Isn’t time an amazing thing? The royal family have been having a golden run. The celebrations of the Queen’s reign, her husband’s life of service, recent marriages of a new generation. There was a sense that the dark days of Diana and a removed monarchy were behind them.

And yet this year, we’ve had Harry and Meghan’s inexplicable dive into self-indulgence and hypocrisy, the rift between brothers, and now this. All that keeps the monarchy relevant, all that has ever kept them relevant as history has shown us a number of times, is duty, service and conduct.

The only person seemingly understanding of the requirements is the one on the throne, which is Andrew’s only blessing: he’s nowhere near a job of a real importance.