Please, no political or pro/anti monarchy comments.
Would anyone else have loved to see him wind the window down and tell the press to eff off and mind their own business?
Simply abhorrent camping out like vultures waiting for news one way or another - he’s 99 and been unwell.
If it’s a formal ‘palace press release’ then I’m wrong.
Mind you, The Media Show with Andrew Neil was a fascinating listen last night as I hadn’t really grasped much about the man from watching This Week which I think ultimately boiled down to a degree of impartiality hosting that. (@Richard.Dane please watch/trim and delete if not approrpiate).
They are doing a job, paid by results. As you say, if people didn’t buy or view the bile some outlets create, they would not be there. It always makes me smile that the self righteous readers of the Mail and other similar outlets, who cannot even be trusted with a swearword, love to hate so much that this whole horrible approach to people’s lives exists.
It would probably be fair to say that had the palace not wanted scenes of him leaving hospital they could probably have managed to arrange a more private exit.
There is a balance to be struck between legitimate interest and outright intrusion. I think there is a case for better regulation but we should be very careful with regard to what we wish for.
I do remember press chasing the royal family in my country - The Netherlands - in the past. There has been made an agreement between the press and the media for certain photo moments / interviews in return for more privacy. This works quite well. Incidents every now and then, but in general it works.
Is such an agreement also present in the Uk or has this been tried in the past?
I don’t like the press at all but I think Old Phil is quite used to them and he would have been largely shielded from them. It would have been OK by me if he’d have told them to eff orf but the odd gaff apart he is too professional for that fair play to him
There are protections in place around the Royal children in the UK. Whether these are codified or not, I’m not sure - but they have bite, as the line has been crossed a couple of times and parties brought to heel.
As evident over time from several i/v’s with members of the Royal Family in the UK though, words get twisted & spun, very much like most channels of social media nowadays. Minimising engagement with the Press is often the best option IMV - even though this draws negative views from some.
Many ‘battles’ with the Press (obviously with hefty legal bills all round) have ended up as pyrrhic victories for the complainants.