#RoyalRealities

“Prince Harry arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice today in his court case against the Daily Mail. We thought he was in the West Coast of the United States with his family. That is not the case.”Sky News Until last week Prince Harry hadn’t been in the UK since the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in September. But last Monday he emerged from a black car and strode through the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice. The last time a member of the royal family was in court was in 2002, when Princess Anne pleaded guilty to a charge under the dangerous dogs act. But in this case Prince Harry isn’t on trial. “Toxic tabloid intrusion helped drive him out of the UK. Now allegations of criminal newspaper tactics have drawn Prince Harry back.”ITV News The prince is suing Associated Newspapers Limited, the owner of the Daily Mail.  He’s doing so alongside six other high profile individuals: the singer Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, the actors Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, the campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and the former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes. They claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” that they have been the victims of phone tapping and other privacy breaches by the publisher. These include the payment of police officials for sensitive information, the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside people’s cars, and the impersonation of individuals to obtain medical records. Associated Newspapers Limited strongly denies the allegations. So what happened in court last week? It’s about 400 steps between the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice and Court 76. That’s where Prince Harry spent a great deal of last week, listening carefully to legal arguments, writing in a small notebook and drinking from a Pret water bottle. Xavier Greenwood is a reporter at Tortoise and was in court. “Court 76 is right at the top of the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s a fairly bland courtroom. It looks a bit like a lecture hall. “You had Prince Harry sitting there just yards away from the press. One afternoon, Sir Elton John turned up. He sat in a red plastic chair in the viewing gallery. “Having people like Prince Harry, having Sir Elton John there, it felt like a real statement of intent. They didn’t need to be in the room. These were pretrial hearings. Much of what was discussed were quite technical arguments.”But by Prince Harry, by Sir Elton John being there, they have drawn huge amounts of attention to the case, and they’ve made clear too that they’re not here to play.”Xavier Greenwood, Tortoise reporter What happened last week wasn’t a trial. It was a preliminary hearing, where lawyers for Prince Harry and lawyers for Associated Newspapers slugged it out. Associated Newspapers want to stop the case going to trial. They say the claims have been brought too late.  In the UK, you have six years after you become aware of a potential crime to file a privacy claim, and the allegations in this case mainly concern a period between 1993 and 2011. The claimants’ lawyers argue that Associated News concealed alleged wrongdoing by crediting information to anonymous sources. Their accusations also partly rely on a witness statement given by Gavin Burrows in 2021. He was a private investigator who claimed he targeted hundreds, possibly thousands of people, including tapping Sir Elton John’s phone and putting Prince Harry’s girlfriends under surveillance. He has since denied gathering unlawful information on behalf of Associated Newspapers. Now the judge has gone away to consider the arguments made by both sides. In a few weeks, he will come back with a decision about whether the case will head towards trial. So what’s at stake in this trial? “We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic. So I did what any husband and what any father would do: ‘I need to get my family out of here.’”ABC News Prince Harry has a stormy relationship with the press. He blames it for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 after being chased by paparazzi. And it’s a big reason why he stepped down as a working royal in 2020, because he believed that his wife, Meghan Markle, was the subject of racist coverage in the British media. “I have never seen the level of abuse and harassment that I witnessed with my wife. But to see it happen the way it happened. I was naive going into it and didn’t realise the British press was so bigoted. And even if I had I wouldn’t have accepted or understood that they could get away with it.”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Prince Harry’s decision to sue Associated Newspapers is the latest confrontation in his battle with the press. If the judge allows the case to go to trial, it will probably be one of the biggest media cases in British history. It could open the door to more claims from other celebrities and if the publisher loses, it could be costly too. But if it wins or stops it going to trial, don’t expect Prince Harry to rest for long. He’s also brought privacy claims against two other media groups in the UK. This episode of the Sensemaker was written and mixed by Xavier Greenwood. read more

“Prince Harry arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice today in his court case against the Daily Mail. We thought he was in the West Coast of the United States with his family. That is not the case.”Sky News Until last week Prince Harry hadn’t been in the UK since the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in September. But last Monday he emerged from a black car and strode through the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice. The last time a member of the royal family was in court was in 2002, when Princess Anne pleaded guilty to a charge under the dangerous dogs act. But in this case Prince Harry isn’t on trial. “Toxic tabloid intrusion helped drive him out of the UK. Now allegations of criminal newspaper tactics have drawn Prince Harry back.”ITV News The prince is suing Associated Newspapers Limited, the owner of the Daily Mail.  He’s doing so alongside six other high profile individuals: the singer Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, the actors Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, the campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and the former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes. They claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” that they have been the victims of phone tapping and other privacy breaches by the publisher. These include the payment of police officials for sensitive information, the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside people’s cars, and the impersonation of individuals to obtain medical records. Associated Newspapers Limited strongly denies the allegations. So what happened in court last week? It’s about 400 steps between the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice and Court 76. That’s where Prince Harry spent a great deal of last week, listening carefully to legal arguments, writing in a small notebook and drinking from a Pret water bottle. Xavier Greenwood is a reporter at Tortoise and was in court. “Court 76 is right at the top of the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s a fairly bland courtroom. It looks a bit like a lecture hall. “You had Prince Harry sitting there just yards away from the press. One afternoon, Sir Elton John turned up. He sat in a red plastic chair in the viewing gallery. “Having people like Prince Harry, having Sir Elton John there, it felt like a real statement of intent. They didn’t need to be in the room. These were pretrial hearings. Much of what was discussed were quite technical arguments.”But by Prince Harry, by Sir Elton John being there, they have drawn huge amounts of attention to the case, and they’ve made clear too that they’re not here to play.”Xavier Greenwood, Tortoise reporter What happened last week wasn’t a trial. It was a preliminary hearing, where lawyers for Prince Harry and lawyers for Associated Newspapers slugged it out. Associated Newspapers want to stop the case going to trial. They say the claims have been brought too late.  In the UK, you have six years after you become aware of a potential crime to file a privacy claim, and the allegations in this case mainly concern a period between 1993 and 2011. The claimants’ lawyers argue that Associated News concealed alleged wrongdoing by crediting information to anonymous sources. Their accusations also partly rely on a witness statement given by Gavin Burrows in 2021. He was a private investigator who claimed he targeted hundreds, possibly thousands of people, including tapping Sir Elton John’s phone and putting Prince Harry’s girlfriends under surveillance. He has since denied gathering unlawful information on behalf of Associated Newspapers. Now the judge has gone away to consider the arguments made by both sides. In a few weeks, he will come back with a decision about whether the case will head towards trial. So what’s at stake in this trial? “We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic. So I did what any husband and what any father would do: ‘I need to get my family out of here.’”ABC News Prince Harry has a stormy relationship with the press. He blames it for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 after being chased by paparazzi. And it’s a big reason why he stepped down as a working royal in 2020, because he believed that his wife, Meghan Markle, was the subject of racist coverage in the British media. “I have never seen the level of abuse and harassment that I witnessed with my wife. But to see it happen the way it happened. I was naive going into it and didn’t realise the British press was so bigoted. And even if I had I wouldn’t have accepted or understood that they could get away with it.”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Prince Harry’s decision to sue Associated Newspapers is the latest confrontation in his battle with the press. If the judge allows the case to go to trial, it will probably be one of the biggest media cases in British history. It could open the door to more claims from other celebrities and if the publisher loses, it could be costly too. But if it wins or stops it going to trial, don’t expect Prince Harry to rest for long. He’s also brought privacy claims against two other media groups in the UK. This episode of the Sensemaker was written and mixed by Xavier Greenwood. read more

“Prince Harry arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice today in his court case against the Daily Mail. We thought he was in the West Coast of the United States with his family. That is not the case.”Sky News Until last week Prince Harry hadn’t been in the UK since the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in September. But last Monday he emerged from a black car and strode through the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice. The last time a member of the royal family was in court was in 2002, when Princess Anne pleaded guilty to a charge under the dangerous dogs act. But in this case Prince Harry isn’t on trial. “Toxic tabloid intrusion helped drive him out of the UK. Now allegations of criminal newspaper tactics have drawn Prince Harry back.”ITV News The prince is suing Associated Newspapers Limited, the owner of the Daily Mail.  He’s doing so alongside six other high profile individuals: the singer Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, the actors Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, the campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and the former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes. They claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” that they have been the victims of phone tapping and other privacy breaches by the publisher. These include the payment of police officials for sensitive information, the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside people’s cars, and the impersonation of individuals to obtain medical records. Associated Newspapers Limited strongly denies the allegations. So what happened in court last week? It’s about 400 steps between the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice and Court 76. That’s where Prince Harry spent a great deal of last week, listening carefully to legal arguments, writing in a small notebook and drinking from a Pret water bottle. Xavier Greenwood is a reporter at Tortoise and was in court. “Court 76 is right at the top of the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s a fairly bland courtroom. It looks a bit like a lecture hall. “You had Prince Harry sitting there just yards away from the press. One afternoon, Sir Elton John turned up. He sat in a red plastic chair in the viewing gallery. “Having people like Prince Harry, having Sir Elton John there, it felt like a real statement of intent. They didn’t need to be in the room. These were pretrial hearings. Much of what was discussed were quite technical arguments.”But by Prince Harry, by Sir Elton John being there, they have drawn huge amounts of attention to the case, and they’ve made clear too that they’re not here to play.”Xavier Greenwood, Tortoise reporter What happened last week wasn’t a trial. It was a preliminary hearing, where lawyers for Prince Harry and lawyers for Associated Newspapers slugged it out. Associated Newspapers want to stop the case going to trial. They say the claims have been brought too late.  In the UK, you have six years after you become aware of a potential crime to file a privacy claim, and the allegations in this case mainly concern a period between 1993 and 2011. The claimants’ lawyers argue that Associated News concealed alleged wrongdoing by crediting information to anonymous sources. Their accusations also partly rely on a witness statement given by Gavin Burrows in 2021. He was a private investigator who claimed he targeted hundreds, possibly thousands of people, including tapping Sir Elton John’s phone and putting Prince Harry’s girlfriends under surveillance. He has since denied gathering unlawful information on behalf of Associated Newspapers. Now the judge has gone away to consider the arguments made by both sides. In a few weeks, he will come back with a decision about whether the case will head towards trial. So what’s at stake in this trial? “We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic. So I did what any husband and what any father would do: ‘I need to get my family out of here.’”ABC News Prince Harry has a stormy relationship with the press. He blames it for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 after being chased by paparazzi. And it’s a big reason why he stepped down as a working royal in 2020, because he believed that his wife, Meghan Markle, was the subject of racist coverage in the British media. “I have never seen the level of abuse and harassment that I witnessed with my wife. But to see it happen the way it happened. I was naive going into it and didn’t realise the British press was so bigoted. And even if I had I wouldn’t have accepted or understood that they could get away with it.”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Prince Harry’s decision to sue Associated Newspapers is the latest confrontation in his battle with the press. If the judge allows the case to go to trial, it will probably be one of the biggest media cases in British history. It could open the door to more claims from other celebrities and if the publisher loses, it could be costly too. But if it wins or stops it going to trial, don’t expect Prince Harry to rest for long. He’s also brought privacy claims against two other media groups in the UK. This episode of the Sensemaker was written and mixed by Xavier Greenwood. read more

“Prince Harry arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice today in his court case against the Daily Mail. We thought he was in the West Coast of the United States with his family. That is not the case.”Sky News Until last week Prince Harry hadn’t been in the UK since the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in September. But last Monday he emerged from a black car and strode through the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice. The last time a member of the royal family was in court was in 2002, when Princess Anne pleaded guilty to a charge under the dangerous dogs act. But in this case Prince Harry isn’t on trial. “Toxic tabloid intrusion helped drive him out of the UK. Now allegations of criminal newspaper tactics have drawn Prince Harry back.”ITV News The prince is suing Associated Newspapers Limited, the owner of the Daily Mail.  He’s doing so alongside six other high profile individuals: the singer Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, the actors Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, the campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and the former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes. They claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” that they have been the victims of phone tapping and other privacy breaches by the publisher. These include the payment of police officials for sensitive information, the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside people’s cars, and the impersonation of individuals to obtain medical records. Associated Newspapers Limited strongly denies the allegations. So what happened in court last week? It’s about 400 steps between the front doors of the Royal Courts of Justice and Court 76. That’s where Prince Harry spent a great deal of last week, listening carefully to legal arguments, writing in a small notebook and drinking from a Pret water bottle. Xavier Greenwood is a reporter at Tortoise and was in court. “Court 76 is right at the top of the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s a fairly bland courtroom. It looks a bit like a lecture hall. “You had Prince Harry sitting there just yards away from the press. One afternoon, Sir Elton John turned up. He sat in a red plastic chair in the viewing gallery. “Having people like Prince Harry, having Sir Elton John there, it felt like a real statement of intent. They didn’t need to be in the room. These were pretrial hearings. Much of what was discussed were quite technical arguments.”But by Prince Harry, by Sir Elton John being there, they have drawn huge amounts of attention to the case, and they’ve made clear too that they’re not here to play.”Xavier Greenwood, Tortoise reporter What happened last week wasn’t a trial. It was a preliminary hearing, where lawyers for Prince Harry and lawyers for Associated Newspapers slugged it out. Associated Newspapers want to stop the case going to trial. They say the claims have been brought too late.  In the UK, you have six years after you become aware of a potential crime to file a privacy claim, and the allegations in this case mainly concern a period between 1993 and 2011. The claimants’ lawyers argue that Associated News concealed alleged wrongdoing by crediting information to anonymous sources. Their accusations also partly rely on a witness statement given by Gavin Burrows in 2021. He was a private investigator who claimed he targeted hundreds, possibly thousands of people, including tapping Sir Elton John’s phone and putting Prince Harry’s girlfriends under surveillance. He has since denied gathering unlawful information on behalf of Associated Newspapers. Now the judge has gone away to consider the arguments made by both sides. In a few weeks, he will come back with a decision about whether the case will head towards trial. So what’s at stake in this trial? “We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic. So I did what any husband and what any father would do: ‘I need to get my family out of here.’”ABC News Prince Harry has a stormy relationship with the press. He blames it for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 after being chased by paparazzi. And it’s a big reason why he stepped down as a working royal in 2020, because he believed that his wife, Meghan Markle, was the subject of racist coverage in the British media. “I have never seen the level of abuse and harassment that I witnessed with my wife. But to see it happen the way it happened. I was naive going into it and didn’t realise the British press was so bigoted. And even if I had I wouldn’t have accepted or understood that they could get away with it.”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Prince Harry’s decision to sue Associated Newspapers is the latest confrontation in his battle with the press. If the judge allows the case to go to trial, it will probably be one of the biggest media cases in British history. It could open the door to more claims from other celebrities and if the publisher loses, it could be costly too. But if it wins or stops it going to trial, don’t expect Prince Harry to rest for long. He’s also brought privacy claims against two other media groups in the UK. This episode of the Sensemaker was written and mixed by Xavier Greenwood. read more

Join us and special guests to discuss the role of the royals today. Do they deserve the extra cash? Is it time for a slimmed down monarchy? Our daily digital ThinkIns are exclusively for Tortoise members and their guests.Try Tortoise free for four weeks to unlock your complimentary tickets to all our digital ThinkIns.If you’re already a member and looking for your ThinkIn access code you can find it in the My Tortoise > My Membership section of the app next to ‘ThinkIn access code’.We’d love you to join us.Britain is facing the sharpest recession on record. The Queen has, of course, wound down her public commitments in the face of Covid19. But even before that, the wider royal family were working less and earning more than before. The monarchy takes in double the money it did a decade ago. The government is giving the royals more cash and their private estates are posting bumper profits. As the most senior members of “the firm” offer Britain support and encouragement through the pandemic, it is not clear what the extended members of the family are contributing, nor how they are paying their way. If we take a close look at the royal finances in the current economic climate, are they fair? Are they sufficiently transparent? Are they worth it? Chair: Alexi Mostrous, Editor and Partner, TortoiseOur special guests include:Lord Andrew Adonis is a Labour party peer who served in both the Blair and Brown administration, latterly as Secretary of State for Transport. David McClure is a television producer, writer and journalist and author of Royal Legacy: How the Royal Family Have Made, Spent and Passed on Their Wealth. How does a digital ThinkIn work?A digital ThinkIn is like a video conference, hosted by a Tortoise editor, that takes place at the advertised time of the event. Digital ThinkIns are new to Tortoise. Now that our newsroom has closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, we feel it’s more important than ever that we ‘get together’ to talk about the world and what’s going on.The link to join the conversation will be emailed to you after you have registered for your ticket to attend. When you click the link, you enter the digital ThinkIn and can join a live conversation from wherever you are in the world. Members can enter their unique members’ access code to book tickets. Find yours in My Tortoise > My Membership in the Tortoise app.If you have any questions or get stuck, please read our FAQs, or get in touch with us at memberhelp@tortoisemedia.comWhat is a Tortoise ThinkIn?A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. It is a place where everyone has a seat at the (virtual) table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise.

The royal family are in crisis again, with Prince Andrew’s links to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal making headlines around the world. What will become of the royals over the next decade? And should they now follow the Swedish example of a slimmed-down royal family, streamlined to be more in tune with modern Britain?  Our special guests include:  Robert Hardman, British journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker best known for his work on the British Royal family Peter Hunt, Former BBC Diplomatic and Royal Correspondent  Joy Lo Dico, British journalist, writer and Founder of the Trouble Club Chair: James Harding, Editor and Co-Founder, Tortoise What is a Tortoise ThinkIn? A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. Modelled on what we call a ‘leader conference’ in the UK (or an editorial board in the US), it is a place where everyone has a seat at the table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It’s where, together, we sift through what we know to come to a clear, concise point of view. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise. Drinks from 6.00pm, starts promptly at 6.30pm. If you are late to a ThinkIn you can ‘SlinkIn’! If you would like to contribute to this ThinkIn, let us know by emailing thinkin@tortoisemedia.com We film our Thinkins so we can watch them back, edit the best bits and share them with members who weren’t there in person. Members can find their ThinkIn booking code in My Tortoise, under My Membership.