A case study on the media's invasion of privacy into the lives of the royal family

1. Media Regulation Case Study:
The Royal Family

2. Should we Regulate the Media?
Arguments Against
• Freedom of speech. Everybody is entitled to their
own opinion and self expression. The public
control their own regulation in what they do and
do not what to know. It is a choice.
• Violent films or games are created as a product of
deeper emotions connected with their topic.
Violence is a big part of human nature and it can
not be avoided. – O’Davey (Critic) Violence helps
us understand the world we live in. – Martin
Baker (Critic)
• Celebrities have consciously chosen to put
themselves in the spotlight, they should accept
what the press do and live with it.
• The regulation of the press may under-represent
social values of minority groups and therefore
indoctrinate the public towards a hegemonic
view.
Arguments For
• Protect vulnerable members of our society from
harm.
• The Bobo Doll experiment proves that children
need a certain level of protection from violent or
impressionable stories.
• Researcher Douglas Gentile has scientific
evidence to suggest that playing violent video
games has increased the level of dangerous
behaviour.
• To protect the personal lives of celebrities and
families who have been in the news. The press
have been accused of intrusion, hacking, lying and
intimidation.
• Protection of animals from harm.

3. Case Study no. 1: The Royal Family
The Royal Family have had issues with their media coverage throughout history. In
1997, Princess Diana’s death, and the coverage of it in the media, led to an intense
review of how the Royal Family’s media coverage is regulated.
Princess Diana’s Death
The controversy flared up due to an Italian photographer who managed to take a
photograph of Princess Diana as she was on oxygen, moments before she passed
away. The photographer tried to sell this image to The Sun newspaper, however after
deliberation, editors refused to publish the image as it was ‘insensitive towards the
memory of Diana’. Nevertheless, Mr Brindani, the editor of Italian magazine ‘Chi’
rejected statements claiming that the image was insensitive and instead claimed that
it was ‘touching’ and ‘tender’, likening Diana to a ‘sleeping princess’ and so the image
was published in European magazines like ‘Chi’.
This event in media regulation’s history kicked off the debated of whether the UK’s
contemporary media should be regulated on the grounds of personal protection or
public interest, specifically regarding the Royal Family.

4. Case Study no. 1: The Royal Family
More recently, we have seen the royal family making active efforts to self-regulate their
media coverage to avoid controversial occurrences like Princess Diana’s. The younger royals,
William, Kate, Harry and their extended family – Princess Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson have
all recently been in tabloids fighting for their own personal freedom when it comes to the
media’s coverage on them and their family and personal lives.
Prince Harry: Service in Afghanistan
In February 2008, it emerged that Prince Harry had been serving in Afghanistan since
December the previous year. The Ministry of Defence in the UK had informed a handful of
journalism outlets that Prince Harry had been serving in Afghanistan, on the condition that
the information was not released until the end of his deployment. The information was
released after two months in the February of 2008 and officials agreed to end the embargo.
Due to his safety, to prevent him from becoming a target for the Taliban, Prince Harry had
to be removed from the battlefield.
Prince Harry: Las Vegas Nudes
As Prince Harry has grown into his adult life, he has been in the news many times on
account of his personal life. In 2012, Harry was photographed nude with a young lady (also
nude) whilst on a private weekend break. The photograph was taken in the confidence of
‘friends’ in a private hotel. Once the pictures emerged, St. James’ Palace contacted the PCC

5. Case Study no. 1: The Royal Family
to refrain from publishing the pictures on the grounds of an invasion of personal privacy. No
British newspapers were able to publish the photos, however the images were published in
American newspapers and eventually The Sun staged the photo and printed the mock up on
the front cover of their newspapers.
One ex-editor said the decision by UK newspapers not to use the photos showed the
Leveson Inquiry had "neutered" the press. However, other editors argued that ‘the media
would have always ben cautious of such photos’ since ‘naked photos are inherently private’.
Moreover, the press were denied the use of the photographs because Harry appears to not
be consensual to the taking of the image.
Prince Harry: Hounding of Meghan Markle
The most recent scandal with Prince Harry is the press’ harassment of Meghan Markle.
Kensington Palace issued a statement which said, "the past week has seen a line
crossed," and accused the press and social media trolls of sexist and racial abuse. His
girlfriend Meghan Markle has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some
of this has been very public -- the smear on the front page of a national newspaper;
the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social
media trolls and web article comments."

6. Case Study no. 1: The Royal Family
The Personal Privacy of the Royal Family
Being on such a high public platform poses the question of where to draw the line at
personal privacy of celebrities, especially the royal family. Some arguments suggest that
they have made the conscious decision to allow the public to access their personal lives
through social media and press photography. Nonetheless, there have been recent scandals
involving the personal privacy of royals which highlight issues with the press getting too
invasive.
Prince William and Kate Middleton
We saw this happen with Prince William and the Duchess when they went on holiday to
France in 2012. Paparazzi snapped photographs from 2 miles away from the private
apartment that they were staying in. The pictures were of the Duchess as she relaxed in the
comfort of privacy, sunbathing topless with her husband on their balcony.
This particular incident raised issues since it was extremely private. The duchess and the
prince had gone to great efforts to try and protect their own privacy, however the image
was still taken and published by France’s Closer magazine.
The couple later took legal action against the magazine over the publication however, the
editor of the magazine, Laurence Pieau, rejected this dispute, claiming that the photos
were ‘not in the least bit shocking’ and that the royal couple made ‘no special efforts to
conceal themselves’, with the terrace being ‘clearly visible from the road’.

7. Case Study no. 1: The Royal Family
Protecting Privacy: Prince William and Kate Middleton
With the birth of their children, Will and Kate have taken special measures to protect the
personal privacy of their lives and their children’s youth. In 2015, the couple made a public
declaration which stated that their children need a ‘safe, happy and private childhood’. In a
letter issued by Kensington Palace, the couple claimed that they, "feel strongly that both
Prince George and Princess Charlotte should not grow up exclusively behind palace gates”,
however this would only be possible without the invasive force of the paparazzi.
The letter notes one recent "disturbing" incident when a photographer camped out in a car
and was found hidden in the trunk trying to shoot pictures of the royal children, just as one
example of the press’ invasion techniques.
This is one of the ways that Prince William
and Kate Middleton are taking action into
their own hands regarding their personal
protection against the media.