If you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.
Did the tabs hack Princess Diana?
Prince Harry’s dramatic declaration of war on the press came in two parts this week; his explosive and emotional statement that his wife was taking the Mail on Sunday to court for infringing her copyright was made on Tuesday, and then a second front was opened on Friday with the revelation that he was launching legal action against the Sun and the Mirror for phone hacking.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now more information about his legal case has leaked out, with Byline Investigates, the outlet that broke the story, saying that Harry will allege, in a group action with ‘scores’ of other claimants, that tabloid newspapers concealed or destroyed evidence that they illegally targeted Prince Harry and his circle of friends and advisers.
Byline Investigates also reports the action could see his lawyers ask if newspapers intercepted Princess Diana’s voicemails.
The Observer adds that the hacking claims cover the period 1994 to 2011 and while five pages are devoted to allegations of hacking, 20 pages of the suit outline allegations of concealment and destruction of evidence, which could embroil the paper’s senior executives at the time, including arch-Meghan hater Piers Morgan.
The former editor of the Mirror has denied any wrongdoing, and did not return a request for comment from The Daily Beast on Friday. However, his anti-Meghan and Harry tweeting has continued.
A Mirror source told The Daily Beast earlier this week: “Piers is at the crux of this. Harry is incensed over his constant columns on Mail Online and his TV attacks on GMB. Piers does not hold back in his contempt for them.”
Morgan has denied under oath knowing of any wrongdoing; however allegations of a cover-up could put him in the frame again.
“This is far more serious than just phone-hacking because these allegations involve perverting the course of justice, perjury and fraud against senior executives and senior editors,” a source told the Observer.
“I’m coming to see you to tell you I can’t see you”
One positive effect for the royals of the drama surrounding Harry and Meghan is that it has pushed the Prince Andrew scandal down our news feeds.
So why on earth Prince Andrew felt today would be a good moment for his ‘friends’ to brief that his visit to Epstein in December 2010 was intended to be misty-eyed farewell one cannot imagine. But, here they are, in The Sunday Times, claiming that “He went to see a friend to tell them he couldn’t be their friend any more.”
Just one problem; Andrew stayed with Epstein for a week.
That’s a hell of a long goodbye.
Bad blood
Infringement of Meghan Markle’s copyright is the basis for her action against the Mail on Sunday, and today we perhaps saw the Mail’s defense strategy; an aggrieved Thomas Markle.
Copyright of a letter remains the property of the person who wrote it, not the person who received it, but the Mail argues today that Thomas “felt he was forced to release some of its details” when her friends “misrepresented” its contents in a sit down with People magazine.
Meghan’s friend portrayed the letter as conciliatory, telling People: “After the wedding she wrote him a letter. She’s like, “Dad. I’m so heartbroken. I love you, I have one father. Please stop victimizing me through the media so we can repair our relationship.” Thomas, they implied, rejected her attempt to reach out and requested a photo-op.
The published extracts of the letter certainly cast doubt on that interpretation.
Markle tells the Mail: “When I opened the letter I was hoping it was the olive branch I’d longed for. I was expecting something that would be a pathway to reconciliation. Instead it was deeply hurtful. I was so devastated I couldn’t show it to anyone—and never would have, had it not been for the People magazine piece which meant I had to release portions to defend myself.”
It's an interesting defense. Will it work?
It’s hard to see how the Sussexes can really be called winners if this legal action ends up with Thomas Markle standing up in a UK court to denounce his daughter.
Kate and William’s Pakistan tour
One of the advantages of the previous royal set-up, where William, Kate, Harry and Meghan were represented by one court, Kensington Palace, and answered to one boss (Prince Charles) was that it was easy for the pen-pushers at the palace to schedule the lives and bursts of activity of their charges without too many egregious clashes.
The decision by Harry and Meghan to peel off and set up their own operation (answerable to the queen) has made that harder. So with the public and the press pack barely over Harry and Meghan’s tour of South Africa, it was hardly surprising that a sense of exhausted ennui greeted the announcement on Friday that William and Kate, sans their three children, will travel to Pakistan on behalf of the crown from October 14th to 18th.
And what causes will they be promoting when they are there? Education for girls and women, girls rights and action on climate change.
Worthy and fine causes, but, wasn’t that what Meghan and Harry just spent ten days talking about in Africa?
One thing you can be sure of is that William won’t issue an emotional statement that knocks all the achievements of the tour off the front pages the day before it’s time to go home.
Royal fashion watch
Meghan and Harry may be at war with the British media, but the show went on in South Africa, with charitable endeavors—and joyous crowds—running, as per, on a clockwork schedule. Meghan wore a succession of simple, rather than showy outfits (as seen on the website What Meghan Wore), underlining that this was a trip less of show and more of human engagement—and business. Sadly, most of that charitable focus was blown up when the legal suits against the British press were both revealed.
Blond Moment
So much for not dragging the queen into politics. The Sunday Times reports that British premier Boris Johnson might ‘dare the queen to sack him’ by refusing to stand down if he loses a vote of confidence in Parliament as the Brexit battle gets ever more bruising. The queen may yet be forced into uncharted, and uncomfortable, constitutional waters by Brexit.
This week in royal history
Happy first anniversary to Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and Jack Brooksbank. They married on October 12th last year at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor—and the anniversary celebrations will be a brief, happy moment for the Epstein scandal-mired Prince Andrew. Her sister Princess Beatrice is due to be married next year to Edo Mozzi, and Beatrice is reportedly insisiting on inviting her fiance’s former lover to come to the wedding. In other wedding news; James Middelton, Kate’s brother, is to marry his girlfriend, French-born Alizee Thevenet.
Unanswered questions
Was Prince George wearing his pyjamas when Prince William took him to the football this weekend? The Sun claims that the kit the young football fan was wearing when he was pictured celebrating wildly as his dad’s beloved Aston Villa beat Norwich 4-0 were a set of of $27 kids nightwear.
