A new book has come out from Russell Myers, a royal editor of the Daily Mirror.
Titled William and Catherine, it dives into the shocking 2012 paparazzi scandal that tore through the House of Windsor, leaving Kate embarrassed and Prince William “ready to go to war with the press.”
Setting Ground Rules
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Myers shared some of his thoughts from the book and his research.
“William has always had a different relationship with the press, not necessarily as public as his brother. … The breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage was played out in the media on an almost daily basis.”
Myters added, “As I say in the book, he [met] with a group of national journalists who were ready to go on an engagement the night before. He walked into a pub where they were all just having a drink after an evening meal and said to them, ‘We are not going to go down the same road.’”
Prince William was taking a different route with the press, one that would protect his own mental health and that of his wife and future family.
The 2012 Vacation Incident
A year after they wed, William and Kate went on a mini vacation in the South of France. It was a brief respite before embarking on a nine-day tour of Southeast Asia as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
While sunbathing at the Château d’Autet, Kate did not realize paparazzi were stationed a mile away. They caught a snapshot of her during a private moment, and very quickly the couple’s “world came crashing down.”
Closer, a French magazine, had published the photographs. Kate had long been a target for the press, even before their 2011 nuptials. However, this time everything changed.
Myers addressed Kate’s life beforehand, stating, “It was an uncomfortable situation to be in for Catherine. She was from a very small village in the center of England. She really hadn’t been exposed to any level of celebrity or the crazy attention that the British monarchy has the world over.”
The Result
William immediately took the offensive, according to Myers’ book. He called then-Prince Charles and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince William informed the pair he would release a public statement, and then sue the magazine over its “monstrous behavior.” He even urged his lawyers to pursue the most serious damages possible, which would be donated to charity.
Though they were sued, Closer stood their ground.
The magazine wrote in a statement: “The photographs we have selected are by no means degrading. They show a beautiful, in love, modern holidaying young couple in their normal life. The article reports on the couple’s recent stay in the South of France.”
After years of legal battle, the matter was finally resolved in 2017, when a judge ordered Closer to pay the couple €100,000 in damages. This was far less than the roughly €1.5 million they sought.
Two staffers were also fined for a combined €90,000. Kensington Palace was “pleased” by the ruling, according to Vogue.
Protecting His Family
The ruling not only got retribution for Kate but sent a message to other tabloids about William’s determination to protect his wife and family, no matter what.
Myers shared, “[At the beginning of the relationship], she felt, ‘If I’m going to put myself forward for something like this, then I not only need the support of William, but also the support of the institution.’ And as I tell in the book, William was absolutely integral to that, to say to her, ‘I will support you,’ and to have the mechanism of the palace supporting her as well.”
While William has had regrets about his previous actions with the press before the scandal, his resolve is clear in his present approach to the media.
Today, the Prince and Princess of Wales have three children and support King Charles III, who ascended in 2022.