Desperate Royals Tried to Censor Leaked King's Funeral Plans
The leak to The Daily Telegraph revealed details including how Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, would be central to the current British monarch's funeral—something officials are actively planning as he battles cancer.
It comes despite the public fracturing of the king's relationship with his younger son, who has also been at loggerheads with brother William. Prince William will have become king by the time of Charles' funeral.
Plans for the funeral, code-named 'London Bridge,' are the most sensitive of royal secrets, meticulously planned by courtiers and ultimately overseen by the king himself.
When the Telegraph published the revelations on its front page with the headline 'Prince Harry and Meghan at heart of King's funeral plans,' it was the first substantive insight British papers had given their readers into an event of world significance.
But as soon as it was published, courtiers began an extraordinary operation to stop word of any future reconciliation spreading, even though the Daily Beast can disclose that the leak originated from within Buckingham Palace's planning operation.
Insiders say the remarkable episode offers an insight into the kind of 'iron fist in a velvet glove' activities that take place behind the curtain of the British royal family as it seeks to control the narrative around the institution.
Multiple sources have told the Daily Beast that the king's most senior spin doctor, Tobyn Andreae, 'had a meltdown on the phone' to editors at The Telegraph, a reliably pro-monarchy publication, about its London Bridge story.
'These new details about London Bridge, including that Harry and Meghan will be invited for central roles and that the mourning period will be shortened, had found their way to the Telegraph exclusively,' said a well-placed Fleet Street source.
'There was a conversation with the palace's communications team ahead of publication. Tobyn [Andreae] was very, very, unhappy. He was involved directly and lobbied the Telegraph for more than 24 hours to try and influence the timing and terms of publication.'
But, explained a second source, a senior journalist with knowledge of the situation, its editors did not 'wish to be controlled.' That 'went down badly' with Andreae, who was 'very resistant to the publication.'
The source said, 'There was a heated phone call. In the end, the view was taken that the paper needed to protect its editorial independence, and it decided to publish its scoop when it wanted to, which from Tobyn's [Andreae's] point of view was premature.'
It was then, however, that a censorship operation swung into action, according to a source who said Andraea tried to 'contain the spill.'
Andreae used a WhatsApp text message group with other journalists who cover the royal family for British newspapers and television networks—a group known as the 'royal rota'—to trash the Telegraph story and say there would be consequences for any outlet that used the information.
In one message seen by the Daily Beast, marked 'not for reporting in any form,' Andreae, a former senior editor at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, criticized the article as 'unconscionable' and 'downright offensive,' given King Charles is currently battling cancer, and warned that outlets which repeated its detail were 'unlikely to receive assistance' in future.
In what Andreae described as a 'gentle advisory' message to the group, which has around 15 members, and the 'international rota' group, which has around 30, he wrote: 'While we won't be drawn on the details or accuracy of the claims, the bridges plans are not yet finalised and there is no active planning underway outside of the entirely routine business you will all be familiar takes place for all family members.
'Speculation about demise planning is deeply distasteful in normal circumstances—but downright offensive given that HMK [His Majesty the King] is living with cancer, continuing with treatment… and doing extremely well on it, as you will all have seen from past weeks and months.
'This sort of article is therefore unconscionable, no matter how 'sensitively framed'. It is also a breach of the clear understanding that in order to for us to be able to assist media with operational planning, royal reporters do not write speculative pieces about Bridges planning, whatever the source.'
Andreae's threat of removed 'assistance', sent to the influential group of royal rota correspondents, had the intended effect. No other British outlet repeated the details printed in the Telegraph, despite its reputation as an establishment newspaper with reliable royal sources. Some of the details were repeated in the U.S. media.
Alongside claims about the Sussexes, the paper revealed that King Charles' 'lifelong dedication to the environment is expected to be recognised with the incorporation of sustainable elements wherever possible,' and that the period of national mourning would last from the day of his death to the day of his funeral, rather than an additional week as was the case when Queen Elizabeth II died in Sept. 2022.
The censorship bid was mounted before another bombshell hit the royals: a further leak, this time of a supposed 'peace summit' between the king's courtiers and Prince Harry's aides.
Late Saturday, details of a meeting Andreae had at an exclusive London club, of which he is a member, with Meredith Maines, who runs general and media operations for the Sussexes in the U.S., and Liam Maguire, who runs their communications operation in the U.K., appeared in an exclusive report in the Mail on Sunday.
Images of the summit were captured in long-lens photographs taken by a well-informed photographer from the paper, whose publisher Harry is presently suing for allegedly hacking his phone and other unlawful information gathering dating back 30 years. The paper denies the allegations.
Buckingham Palace and The Daily Telegraph failed to respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Sussexes said they never comment on London Bridge planning.
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