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.

I think even those of us unintelligent fools who aren’t lawyers can get our tiny heads around it being very different in court because they’ve gotten away with it haven’t they! But we still applaud all of those who try and we we still going to discuss what is being claimed. We are still going to discuss the morality of it all.

@Whaeanui

They were attending a charity event - years before the one claimed by the poster.

You do understand the point of a charity event, you all stand around, support the charity and get your photo taken, perhaps accept an award. Grown ups are able to smile and get their photo taken with people they don’t like.

But MrsMaxDeWinter didn't post the photo with any good intent towards William which was obvious from the final line of the post. It was posted to make it appear that William is either in cahoots or cowed by them.

I think we all agree Murdoch is a force for evil, but the public read the drivel his titles produce. Very few seem to have the attention span for properly researched journalism. Social media, 140 character assassinations, polarised reporting - you're either DM or Grauniad, when both sides have axes to grind.

@Whaeanui

Harry is going to get cross examined in court about his confused statements. I just wonder did he listen to his legal team at all, is his statement what they prepared

I understand he must despise Piers Morgan (you’d be hard pressed to find anyone on here who likes him) but the witness box isn’t the place to settle scores.

I think the world would be a far better place without The Sun, Fox and Rupert Murdoch,
Judging by some of the posts on here, I’m not so sure about Twitter either

But MrsMaxDeWinter didn't post the photo with any good intent towards William which was obvious from the final line of the post. It was posted to make it appear that William is either in cahoots or cowed by them.

Why does she have to post with good intent? Still not a ‘smear’. They’re all scared of them, Hugh Grant has said this, we’ve all discussed the power of the press on this thread quite a bit. It’s a total overreaction to respond to @MrsMaxDeWinter that way.

@Coxspurplepippin

so agree with everything you said

@Howsimplywonderful I’m sure he has listened to his lawyers, Sherborne has represented a lot of people who have accused The Sun ( and others ) of hacking and has got a lot of payments for his clients. A trial would help clarify lots of things there isn’t time to dig into at this stage.

Yes, thank you, I’m not stupid, I’m quite aware of how charity events work. I wouldn’t attend one and shake hands with someone who had hacked my phones. That they do, speaks to the power of Murdoch. It isn’t just a reflection on William, but on the system he’s in.

Yup, sometimes as adults, due to work, we need to meet with people we don't agree with and that we have issues with.

As adults at work we have to be polite, get our points across in a rational manner and occasionally smile and shake those same peoples hands.

Its shit, but it's adulting.

My guess is that the 2012 ‘secret agreement’ stopped the clock on claims - it would be an obvious protection to include. The RF /William were then able to bring in lawyers to concentrate the other side’s minds when patience with the foot-dragging ran out.

But Harry left the 2012 process, or was never part of it because he didn’t think he had been hacked more than once. And I suppose that meant his clock started again, or was deemed never to have stopped or something.

PC is even inviting a Sinn Fein leader to his coronation, despite all the history

Sometimes you’ve got to put your big boy pants on and suck it up

*As adults at work we have to be polite, get our points across in a rational manner and occasionally smile and shake those same peoples hands.

Its shit, but it's adulting.*

Thats something we all do. I think it’s different if people have illegally hacked your communications though. Quite different.

Except the Royals do avoid people they do not want to meet. Remember when Anne avoided Trump?

Yes and now they only see Harry at big events 🤔 so normal and standard to mingle with people who illegally hack your phones and write stories about you, but totally unthinkable to mingle with H & M at more than a big state occasion, and even then some don’t think H should be there.

And these are journalists we are talking about. The Royals could have avoided them if they wanted to.

She still went to his State dinner. She didn't need to shake his hand, but she still had to go to the event honouring him.

She's a Senior Royal, but even among that small group there is still a hierarchy, and some of them have to do the dirty jobs.

people we don't agree with and that we have issues with

Have you had to mingle with people who illegally accessed your phones? I mean you see the huge difference, don’t you? It’s not that I’m attacking William over it. It’s the whole system where that’s expected or part of life that astounds me.

@Whaeanui

I can understand not wanting to mingle with people who sold my conversations whether they were a hacker for a paper or my brother for his book

The wound is clearly too fresh and deep for William at the moment so I can respect that.

I think emotional ties come into it, I would feel worse about a close family member who had betrayed confidences than I would about some journalist. You have a different expectation. Doesn't mean it is right but we are human after all.

And yet people can’t respect that Harry is similarly unhappy about William doing the same to him? And Harry didn’t illegally obtain conversations, that comparison is very weak. Many many people write books about their lives and that includes people in them. Charles has, Diana, Fergie, loads of people throughout history. That is not the same as phone hacking. William being friendly to hackers but not his brother, speaks volumes. He is clearly unable to avoid the former, which is a really bad look to me. They lie and commit crimes but are friendly with the monarch and their family.

Again, we aren’t talking about journalists who betray their confidence, we are talking about illegally intercepting private communications. That people think that’s the same as a memoir astounds me. Truly. I think the problem with the hacking issue is that too many of the public don’t have a problem with it. Clearly.

@MrsFinkelstein Trump is President, not a journalist. Going to a state dinner with him would be expected. But not shaking his hand was seen as a clear snub, If they can do that to a President, they can do the same to mere journalists. They are choosing not to.

@Whaeanui

We clearly disagree about William and Harry, so happy to leave it there ?

People are pretending to think that hacking phones is the same as writing your own memoir or doing a public interview. They know that one is criminal and the other is what loads of celebrities do every day.

Yes exactly. It’s bizarre.