The Press & The Royals: a discussion

[Whaeanui]

As we were just having a great discussion on this topic I’m going to try again to continue it on a thread of its own. A previous thread highlighted two particularly prolific ‘royal reporters’, but the same is true for all. They often manufacture stories to create divisions between the women in the family, more often than the men. The public seem to feed off this and none of the family get treated very well except the monarch. So do we think it is possible for the royal family to stay relevant and in the publics mind without their unhealthy relationship with the media? Can social media replace this? What do you think they can do to make positive changes that would reflect an understanding of the mental health challenges the media intrusion results in? Also their role in charities that deal with mental health and misogyny, mistreatment of women etc could be impacted by this too. Thoughts?
Please do not derail this thread by discussing your personal dislike of particular members or if they deserve it. I would like a discussion on how the royal family could change the relationship with the press.

Yes I think 2017?

So why is he shocked that William took action in 2019, and using it as ‘proof’ that William knew more than him,, when according to his statement he knew something was going on since 2017, which he had grown impatient with after 12 months of nothing happening?

I’m so confused.

The only explanation for this is that the secret agreement never existed. It's all in Harry's imagination.

William waited till 2019 to settle because he wanted to. He didn't need the money after all, and maybe he wanted to see how the other claimants settled their own cases. There were hundreds of them.

How it reads to me is that Harrys saying he was aware of, and indeed a part of, the ‘secret agreement’ whereby they started their legal bit 2016/2017, in accordance with the terms of SA? He waited for 12 months for them to issue the apology as agreed, when he got impatient that it was not forthcoming, and he asked permission to escalate as he didn’t want to deal with these people at his wedding.

But then didn’t actually officially start it until 2019 (or maybe he had, and 2019 was when it ‘kicked off’? Not sure how long it would take to instruct solicitors, and then for them to do their bit?)

Is that how others are reading it?

But he seems to be saying he was part of it, but got impatient after 12 months?

I’m assuming this was what was meant by the ‘inconsistencies’ in his statement that other papers reported on, because it seems all over the place?

@PicturesOfDogs that’s how I read it pretty much.

From the Telegraph

A High Court judge has raised concerns over “inconsistencies” in the Duke of Sussex’s phone hacking claim against the publisher of The Sun.
Prince Harry has alleged that a “secret agreement”between News Group Newspapers (NGN) and Buckingham Palace had prevented him from bringing his claim any earlier.
But Mr Justice Fancourt questioned why he had failed to mention the alleged pact in his original claim. The judge also highlighted “inconsistencies” in the Duke’s case over when he first became aware he was a victim of hacking.
The questions were raised during a three-day preliminary hearing at which Prince Harry’s lawyers are challenging an attempt by NGN to “strike out” the claim on the grounds that it was brought too late.
Meanwhile, royal sources suggested on Wednesday that the Duke could have won a payout similar to that received by his brother from Rupert Murdoch’s company over hacking but instead “decided to go rogue”.
In his witness statement, the Duke claimed that Clarence House, his father’s former household, had effectively blocked his “every move” in seeking an apology from NGN as part of a “specific long-term strategy” to keep the media onside to smooth the way for Camilla to be accepted as Queen Consort.Advertisement
A palace source insisted there was no secret agreement to delay any payment or apology from NGN and that the idea it was all done to protect the Duke’s stepmother’s reputation was without foundation.
The source, involved in the discussions at the time, said the Duke was not prevented from taking his own action and that both he and William were kept fully in the loop of all negotiations. Efforts were made to obtain an “institutional resolution” on behalf of the entire household, the source added, saying: “This was not about individuals.

The Duke alleged that his brother had accepted a “huge sum of money” from NGN after quietly settling with the company in 2020 but questioned why he did not bring a claim in 2012, when “he knew far more about the matter ... than I did”.
Mr Justice Fancourt said it appeared Prince Harry was claiming he knew about a secret agreement between the Royal family and NGN that prevented him launching litigation in 2012, whilst at the same time suggesting he only fully appreciated the true scale of hacking in 2019.
He said there had been no mention of any secret deal when the Duke’s claim was first submitted and asked for an amended claim to be lodged before the final day of the hearing on Thursday.
“I’m surprised there hasn’t been an application some time after the statement was put in, but there we are,” he added. “Another thing that is troubling me is what appears to me to be a factual inconsistency in the current pleaded case about the way the Duke of Sussex did not have the knowledge before 2019 to bring a claim.
“Your proposed amendment seems to suggest that he would have brought a claim in 2012 except for the secret agreement.”

David Sherborne, for the Duke, said that before 2012 he had thought that only one voicemail, left for him by his brother, had been intercepted.
The barrister said Harry thought the tabloid press “wouldn’t have been stupid enough to go after his messages, given the security services’ involvement” and that he had been “kept out of the loop” about claims lodged by household staff.
The Duke said in his statement that only through his own litigation had he discovered that his brother “appeared to know an awful lot more than I did on the subject of phone hacking”.
He suggested William’s financial settlement had been part of a “favourable deal in return for him going ‘quietly’, so to speak”.
Mr Sherborne apologised for the Duke’s failure to appear in court but said he was following proceedings “intently” via video link from California and was preparing to return to the UK for his father’s Coronation on May 6.

Factual inconsistencies- who’d have thought?

Rebecca Brooks and Camilla are never good news bylineinvestigates.com/2023/04/26/sun-hacking-case-day-two-how-a-top-murdoch-executive-left-buckingham-palace-talking-to-the-hand/

That’s the one I read earlier!

Here was the bit I was talking about, where it said they had started legal proceedings together!

I was just reading about other settled cases with NGN, and they do so without admittance of liability from either News of The World or The Sun.

Like Andrew’s settlement then which the claimant was happy with

So the group as a whole are making settlements, but without admitting wrongdoing at any specific publication?

Very interesting

Why would you trust Murdoch if you didn't have to?

Diana was paranoid but some of that was down to Bashir and his lies to her.

I don't think we can say she was paranoid.

Her husband was cheating - and surely lying.
Her friend (Camilla) was also cheating - and surely lying
The newspapers run untold amount of articles that are true - so people in her inner circle must be talking - ie betraying her.

i mean if you think about for a nano second she was complete;ly isolated from all human relationships by criminal activity that she was not aware of.

It beggars belief when you think about it.

AND - the same was done to the princes.

We really should not accept this.

twitter.com/SussexRoyalGlow/status/1650974049890189315?s=19 willy on the other rather is happy to receive cash from these people and serve up H&M to continue to be friends with Murdoch's empire. He doesn't care about the people or his mother.

Yes. They admitted years ago that the News of the World hacked voicemails, but have always denied that The Sun was involved.

Many people are suspicious of that denial, but there wasn't enough evidence at the relevant criminal trials to be beyond reasonable doubt. The strategy of just paying out all the claims means that it's never been tested in a civil case, where the standard is beyond reasonable doubt .

I do not think that they could risk public opinion forcing them to close down The Sun. Probably enough time has passed now, that there wouldn't be the same uproar, but another few years would make that more certain.

Peirs is close friends with Camilla as is Clarkson.

twitter.com/jasminedotiwala/status/1650882812319244292?s=19 William could have stood up against the lies but instead he decided to get paid and serve up Meghan.

SussexRoyalGlow

Maybe William is protecting his family. As to 'serving up' H&M, Harry has 'served up' his family in many ways over the last couple of years.

Harry's previous claim that his memory is sometimes faulty won't be helping his case, will it? The judge has already pointed out inconsistencies.

Harry has got the knives out for Piers Morgan who committed the grave sin of criticising Meghan.

Piers was also spotted just a few days ago at a pub or restaurant with Beatrice and Eugenie. His wife was also there, and there are photos of them all arriving (separately I think), plus a photo of them leaving in which Beatrice is pictured hugging Piers. So he’s clearly on good enough terms with the York girls - possibly also their parents? Imo I’m not entirely sure it’s fair to lay all the blame at Camilla’s feet when there could have been a very different source of info

He doesn't care about the people or his mother.

Fucking hell, could you stoop any lower?