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The Yorks

Prince Andrew becomes the first royal to publicly speak about Brexit

The Duke of York has become the first member of The Royal Family to conduct an interview on the subject of Brexit since the referendum last year.

Prince Andrew, who drew controversy last year after implying the UK would be better off remaining in the European Union, said on Friday that he is “as much in the dark as anyone else”.

Speaking on Newsday on BBC World News, the 57-year-old said: “The UK “should be engaging with as many different markets as we possibly can and looking at the best of things rather than necessarily the worst of things”.

The Duke was interviewed by the BBC’s Sharanjit Leyl in Singapore where he is attending a Commonwealth science conference.

The sixth-in-line to the throne added: “You can either look at it as a glass half-empty – which is: ‘Oh my God, why have we done this?’

“Or you could look at it as a glass half-full, which is: ‘Ok, that’s where we are. There are opportunities that we’ve got to make.’

“So… you may lose one thing but you may gain something else.

“The world is your oyster.”

It is highly unusual for a member of The Royal Family to speak out on such a contentious issue, especially when they involve politics.

The UK is due to start negotiations with the EU next Monday ready for departure in 2019.

Prince Andrew caused controversy last year when he criticized Brexit and Donald Trump.

The Duke of York said that a Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election, together with leaving the European Union, would “tear things apart.”
He made the comments when speaking to some of the country’s most influential business leaders at an event held at Windsor Castle in November. However, as expected, some figures have said that the sixth-in-line to the throne should remain impartial on such issues.
The Queen’s son told the entrepreneurs present that : “There was a vote here recently where we agreed to leave one organisation, and there’s a man in the US who it seems wants to leave every organisation.“Combined, they could tear things apart.”

Peter Bone, a Conservative Member of Parliament who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU, said that the Prince’s words were “extraordinary”.

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