The royals and Dan Wootton: Byline Times part 1 of 3-year investigation into how Wootton got information about the royal family

[queentim]

Following their series about the Crisis in British Journalism and MediaToo movement, Byline Times reporters have recently released the first report of the 3 year investigation into the link between the royals and (disgraced) TV presenter Dan Wootton.

The first report reveals how Charles and William were angered that Harry refused to remove the name of an aide (William's aide in Kensington) who was paid cash to leak stories about his wife Meghan, and son Archie. This included investigations by the Met.

As a result, Charles removed the $700,000 granted to support them, which would have seen Harry and Meghan living in Canada and representing the Queen, in an effort to bring them back to the UK by exposing their location in Canada and removing their security. This was the collapse of the 'Sandringham Agreement', which resulted in the signing of the Sussexes media deals.

Some highlights, but can be bought for £3.6:

▪ It followed news that a partner of a key aide to Prince William received £4,000 from The Sun allegedly for stories about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when Wootton was executive editor.

▪ The Metropolitan Police looked into the alleged leaking but could not go to a judge for a warrant to search royal staff property without knowing the identity of the whistle-blowers.

▪ Two internal royal investigations followed – one involving Simon Case, who is today the embattled head of the civil service facing questions over the Government’s response to the pandemic.

▪ Byline Times has uncovered new photographic evidence of Wootton, the aide and the aide’s partner at a lavish private birthday party Wootton threw for his close friends in a £1,675-a-night hotel suite.

▪ Prince Harry sent formal ‘letters before action’ detailing the claims about Wootton and the palace to News UK.

▪ When the aide’s name was not removed from the legal letters, the Sussexes were cut adrift financially and left unable to protect themselves despite having a security threat level equal to the monarch.

▪ The royal household had thought the threat of exposure would force Harry and Meghan to return to the UK, where their profile could be controlled preventing them from eclipsing the future King

Exploding ‘Megxit’: How Dan Wootton and a Cash-for-Leaks Scandal Split the Monarchy

@Samcro if you think it’s being derailed report it. From what I have read it’s balanced and relevant.

@DewinDwl I agree with you (a republican also).

I assume that UK society was / is sufficiently (subconsciously) deferential to tolerate and fund an inherited monarchy well beyond the times when our near neighbours have moved on or modernised.

It will only take a gentle swing in public opinion for UK society to question and then remove this system - hence the RF need to keep the British public on board with positive media.....it doesn’t necessarily need to be trash PR - it can be coverage of what they are doing for ‘charidee’ - and UK PLC / tourism - although that’s questionable and not sure quantifiable or even a return on investment. Not sure anyone has crunched the numbers? There are a lot of vested interests and a lot of people on the payroll and with associations that afford them access to opportunities of power and money beyond the individual family members.

“Meghan had spent her adult life successfully building a career in a hugely cutthroat entertainment industry, so I doubt that backstage shenanigans, vanity and one upmanship were particularly new to her. The family hierarchy and dynamics, yes, that must have been different, but a peer/colleague having a higher status is again, presumably something she was familiar with.”

@Serenster IDK .... MM’s own family seem to have similar dynamics.

just my opinion, I just wish every thread didn't go the same way.
but keeping to the way the thread is now. I do have sympathy for Harry. its must be hard to realise you are dispensable, everything is to keep the heir safe and you are not important.

So agree with this. They use the media when they want and I find it quite distasteful there's all this schmoozing of the right press people. I think it was Harry who said there were dinners at Buck House and the like to keep them onside. The RF host dinners at BP for the great and good of the media world, the symbiotic relationship at its finest.
What a way to live.
I do hope some more Royals run for cover in the future.

I think it’s only hard to realise you are lower in the pecking order than your brother if you’ve always assumed you are equal. I really really hope William is bringing up his children with a greater awareness of what the crown is and the role it plays in the U.K. and that there is only one monarch and that is usually the first born child.
it’s not personal to you, it’s not a reflection on your character or how much he and Kate loves them and how they are equal in the family itself but in the constitution George is the heir and he is the one that matters ( constitutionally)
an understanding of this from day dot will lead to them having much more fulfilling and happy lives. And they are still much more privileged than 99.99 percentage of the population.
I think this is where Charles went wrong with Harry perhaps understandably he didn’t want to upset him and maybe didn’t have the parental ability to navigate the situation.

@Roussette this is just business as usual. It’s how the commercial world works. Every business manages their image and brand via the media - even H&M.

I agree but I do think this is one step further. When each household can brief against one another to get the best press. I don't think we should be under any illusion that that hasn't happened. Maybe in the past now, but it has happened... hardly toeing the company line is it....

“I do hope some more Royals run for cover in the future.”

Well let’s hope the next ones who do so leave behind their titles and don’t use them to make millions of pounds whilst criticising the family/ organisation who bestowed them !

Yeah... Sarah's naughty like that...

How did I know you would say that ? 🤷‍♀️

At least I'm predictable.

And won't let it drop.... one rule for one etc...

So if we agree that SF was wrong to use her title to make money , we agree that H and M are wrong to use their titles to make money ?

No. We don't agree at all. Sorry. I am just pointing out what a previous member of the RF has done, compared to H&M.

64 books under the title Sarah, Duchess of York (divorced nearly 30 years). That's only a small part of it.

H&M 2 books (Spare and the Bench) still married and setting out why they left.

Ha ha of course you won’t admit that the sainted duo are making money from their titles . Let’s see how many books/ interviews / reality shows they do over the next few years !
Indeed they are still married and I hope they remain so .

By the way , they left because they didn’t get the half in/ half out they wanted .

A lot of royal use their status to make money. Zara, Peter, Sarah.
others like Diana and Charles wrote about it.
but for some reason only Harry gets ripped apart.

I don’t think how ever much W&K try they will never be able to make all their children feel equal

Zara and Peter don’t have titles.

Apologies @Samcro mis read - thought you wrote titles not status .
( watching tennis at same time )

The difference is that one gets to live on a Royal Estate with her ex husband, gets invited to family events and doesn't have constant smear campaigns run about her. Probably because she is the only person outside the family who can tolerate Andrew!

H and M could still have been living on Windsor Estate and invited to royal events but chose to walk away .
When I retired from my very good job , I didn’t get to keep my car, mobile phone, salary etc
I do agree about Andrew !

Also , Sarah has been mocked and criticised since the 1980s!

I do hope some more Royals run for cover in the future
I suspect the Royals have made sure that no one else will run, and that's part of the reason for their treatment of Harry and Meghan. They have made clear what they exoect- Fo what you like- consort with paedophiles, rip off the public, make money out of selling milk/ podcasts/whatever but don't criticise the family, and don't expose any going on.

I think it's easy to forget when talking about high-profile public figures that they don't operate as individuals in the same way as regular people and they are often only as good as their teams and main advisors, and also being able to take advice when needed.

And for the royals they have the extra issue of 'court rivalry' - it's clear that things have not moved on very far from Tudor times in terms of power plays by different factions - acting for their principle or acting for themselves?

I'm hoping that William's system of getting in a new Private Sec every couple of years who brings a different skill set might be a better way forward to break up the entrenchment of power that seemed to take place with HLMQEII and KC's teams.

His current one Jean Cristophe Grey is leaving after three years - he was the financial budget wizz - and now they are advertising for a CEO which implies some sort of business expertise and less 'courtier'.

Maybe the rest love their families and don’t want to run for cover