Prince William ‘was clear from the start we were never to brief’ against royals

Tusk Conservation Awards in London

Here are some photos of Prince William at last night’s Tusk Conservation Awards in London. William has long been the patron of the Tusk Trust. He initially signed on to Tusk as a royal patron to be closer to Jecca Craig, and I think it’s curious that William almost always attends Tusk Trust events solo – Kate never tags along. William handed out awards last night, chatted with event attendees and winners and happily posed for photos. This pleasant, public event fell on a good spot on his calendar, especially given that last night, the BBC aired Part 1 of The Princes and the Press. That documentary-style program will do a lot of damage to William’s image long-term. Hilariously, William can’t stop briefing the press about how he’s never briefed the press. He’s an absolute moron.

In the programme, Omid Scobie alleged: “There has been a lot of rumours for some time that a lot of the most damaging and negative stories about Harry and Meghan, that have ended up in the pages of the Press, have come from the other royal households or from other royal aides or courtiers. From my own experience that is true.”

But Peter Hunt, former BBC royal correspondent, said: “That did not happen the chunk of the time I was doing the royal family. You have to assume that they would have only done it if they had the approval of their principle (royal family member).”

A senior royal source told The Sun: “William was clear from the start we were never to brief and never to say anything about anyone in the other households. He’d lived through that in the ’90s with his parents in the War of the Waleses and doesn’t ever want it happening again. He’s in a much better place (with the Press) than his brother.”

[From The Sun]

Peter Hunt’s point, within the program, was actually underlining Omid Scobie’s statement about the leaks from palace aides and such. Hunt is saying: that’s not the way it should work, and the only way that was happening was through the implicit and likely explicit approval of the royals themselves. An example: this wasn’t Jason Knauf going off on his own to brief against Meghan or deciding, on his own, to breach his confidentiality to his employers and turn over selections from texts and emails to hurt Meghan’s lawsuit against the Mail. Hunt is saying: this was done with William’s approval. The smear campaign against Meghan was done with royal approval. And yes, it’s completely ridiculous that William continues to run around, briefing reporters about how he explicitly never briefs reporters. It’s especially clownish considering he authorized Jason Knauf to turn over evidence against Meghan TO THE MAIL.

Tusk Conservation Awards in London

Tusk Conservation Awards in London

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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73 Responses to “Prince William ‘was clear from the start we were never to brief’ against royals”

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  1. HeatherC says:

    “He’s in a much better place (with the Press) than his brother.”

    Which means they call, he jumps to provide them with content, like rolling out the kids again. And if it helps his own agenda, even better (YES briefing against Harry and Meghan and even Charles).

    While Harry was quite clear he wasn’t going to play that game even before Meghan

  2. Jais says:

    I get that a lot of these reporters revere royalty but even the most staunch monarchists must roll their eyes at William.

    • Sofia says:

      I do feel like some of the rota/royal reporters in general, don’t like the Cambridges in general. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure some do but that’s the vibe I get. I think Chris Ship wasn’t a fan when he first got the royal reporting gig but maybe he is now. I think even Richard Palmer was happy when the Heathrow photos came out because he said it gave them something new to discuss about the Cambridges that wasn’t PR fluff. And a lot of them became mad very quickly and easily when William’s COVID illness was revealed so they don’t have some blind loyalty to him.

      • Nic919 says:

        Palmer didn’t like how the Cambridges operated and complained about it until Meghan arrived. Then he switched. Meghan was an easier target and he confirmed that the family was briefing against Harry and Meghan very early on.

        When Palmer, Scobie, Emily Andrews and even Camilla Tominey (in a clip in the doc) all say they got briefed by the aides , it happened. William can try with these pathetic lies all he wants but there is too much evidence for the contrary.

      • Becks1 says:

        I bet a lot of them don’t like the Cambridges. They may hate H&M more, but I bet most are not Cambridge fans.

        Richard Palmer had a really interesting tweet once, about how Meghan needed to interact with the press more at her engagements, so that they had something to talk about, because if not, then she would become like Kate, where there was nothing to talk about but hair and clothes and that was it.

        so definitely criticism of Meghan, but with a not-so-subtle dig at kate there.

        ETA also I think if the cambridges were just boring, the rota would be okay with that. They’re used to the royal family being boring. But my guess is that they resent the control William exerts over his coverage and being forced to sit on huge stories to keep the FFK happy so they can keep getting their boring stories about them. If they were just boring, it would be okay.

      • marehare says:

        Face it. William, Charles and the rest of the “royal” family are simply scum living on the public’s dole. So glad Harry and Megham got out.

      • Nic919 says:

        @becks I recall that Palmer used to be quite critical of the way the Cambridges never posed for a decent photo and how they provided old photos of the kids. He also was critical of them first showing more of Charlotte during the second Canada tour when she was very much hidden in the Uk.

        Of course that criticism has gone away because they are trotting out the kids more, but I don’t think he suddenly thinks they are great, just that they cooperate more to help give them stories to print.

    • notasugarhere says:

      I doubt they revere royalty.They like the money they make off them, that’s it.

  3. OriginalLala says:

    He sounds so dim, how do even die-hard royalists believe he was anointed by god to reign over people???

    • Thirtynine says:

      It sounds like William is more and more getting backed into a corner. It’s all starting to come out now.

  4. Brit says:

    He is trapped and stuck for real, lol. This is what happens when you jump in bed with the media. When you do clownery..they got him to play the access game and did his dirty work. He can’t back out or leave without exposing himself.

  5. Pink Flamingo says:

    He’s lazy and has a horrible temper. Everyone knows the monarchy is over except for Willy.

  6. Becks1 says:

    If William was so clear that there was never to be any briefing against any royals, then he should have been firing every employee who went to the press about Meghan. We have enough evidence from the RRs themselves – Rebecca English talking about how staff members would call her to complain about Meghan, Emily Andrews talking about how she liked Meghan but she was ruffling feathers in the royal household and it was her job to talk about that, Dan Wootton admitting that the royals were leaking about H&M, etc.

    I know this is just about William saying something often enough so people just accept it as the truth, but really, anyone with half a brain would know its nonsense. If William doesn’t allow briefing against the other royals, then what the hell has been happening at KP for the past 4 years?

    • Myra says:

      I mean if I was William and I found out that the CEO of my charitable foundation broke NDA by sharing private messages from during his time as a royal aide. And this was done voluntarily because he felt bad that a million-dollar media company had lost a court case for publishing a private, personal letter, he wouldn’t be allowed to step foot into Kensington Palace the next day. He would clearly be considered a security risk for the firm. Unless of course, I approved it.

      • Nic919 says:

        And to be clear nothing Knauf produced would ever fall under protections of a whistleblower type of legislation because despite some wanting to believe otherwise, Meghan not recalling that she asked Jason to speak with Omid to correct facts (after Knauf prompted her) is not an actual crime.

    • Nic919 says:

      Knauf needed to be fired years ago with no soft landing if William truly disliked aides briefing against Harry and Meghan. But Knauf was specifically hired to use his smarmy Tory political aide behaviour at KP. And he’s so bad at it which is why it’s all blowing up.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      @Becks1, agree and your post reminds me of this movie scene-

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2G2sac9s34

      William ordered the Code Red.

  7. NCDancer says:

    So we are to believe that senior royal source is talking on their own? If your boss doesn’t want you talking about him or others, why are you still talking? Even if we are to believe that lie, the only thing this says is that the Royals have no control over or loyalty from of their household staff. What a clown show!

  8. Rapunzel says:

    You know, I was worried about how William would support himself and his family if the Monarchy ever fell.

    It’s so nice of him to reassure me that he has a bright future career giving Masterclasses in PR buffonery if anything ever happens.

    I cannot believe this British Royal is so ignorant of Shakespeare that he fails to understand the concept of “the lady doth protest so much, methinks”.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Rapunzel that’s the exact phrase I thought of immediately as well. Bill just CANNOT seem to stop talking! Every time he opens his mouth, he makes things worse. Smh

  9. Becks1 says:

    Also just to mention that I do think Kate went to the Tusk trust awards a few years ago, in one of her black lace/sheer dresses, that’s when William touched her back and the stans went wild, lol. But let’s also remember that a year later (so 2019 I think) was when Kate pulled out of the event at the very last minute because of “childcare issues.”

  10. LaraW” says:

    Ugh. What KP should have said is that they DO brief the press, but lie and say they only brief the press to correct false narratives or something along those lines. Much more believable to non-royal watchers, much more sympathetic. This WE ARE BRIEFING THE PRESS THAT WE NEVER BRIEF THE PRESS is farcical.

    I always find KP’s media statements to be strangely meta in the most ridiculous ways. Like their typical “we’re announcing that we will announce an announcement” or this “we brief to the press that we do not brief the press with briefs to the press.”

    • NCDancer says:

      + 1 – just so stupid.

    • Becks1 says:

      RIGHT – have talking points about how of course they brief the press, are we supposed to believe that no one from KP ever talks to the press? that’s why they have a press office. have a few prepared statements about how their contact with the press is work-related or to respond to press inquiries but they don’t engage in stories about the personal lives of royals. Something. anything. these people are so bad at this.

  11. Lady Digby says:

    Mic Wright is devoting his daily newsletter to yesterday’s documentary and it is bound to be a corker.
    Mic is a media commentator who has often referenced the deal between RF and the press and what leverage they might have on Big Bad Will.
    Perhaps for the next Royal Premiere W&K could attend The Power of The Dog about an older brother who destroys the life of his younger brother and sister in law!

  12. Sofia says:

    Hunt is right. There’s no way employees are briefing without the permission of their bosses. And if they are without permission then the fact that they haven’t been fired speaks volumes. So either the royals are horrible people in general who leak against family members or they’re incompetent bosses who can’t control or fire their employees when they leak. Neither option makes the royals look great.

    • JT says:

      This is why the palace is dumb. Either you brief the press or your staff are the ones walking the dog. How does that look good? The fact that the housekeeper leaks on their employers with impunity, without fear of reprisal from their bosses. It makes the royals seem afraid of the help. Why can’t they keep their staff in check, unless of course, the royals are the ones telling their staff to brief the press. What utter fools.

      • Jan90067 says:

        Think about what Angela Kelley did to Meghan, jerking her around with tiara fittings and when Meg wanted to bring her hairdresser to try styles with the one she chose… it took HARRY CALLING TQ to get her to stop that shit. So yes, I DO think these employees are steering the ship for the most part for their incompetent bosses.

  13. what's inside says:

    William is about William….everything else is what supports him best. A chip off the old block, right Charles?

  14. rawiya says:

    He threatened to take them to the Human Rights Tribunal if they wrote stories about him sexin’ up his wife’s friend. How is that being in a better place? How? I hate him so much.

    • Harper says:

      Oh the irony that The Burger King, who sued to protect his privacy, releases his own dogs on his sister-in-law when the court rules that her privacy was violated. The same court of law he is using to lock out the press on his private life is not to be used to protect Meghan. Burger King is trying to prove Meghan expected the letter to be released and thus has no claim on privacy. So if all of Norfolk knew about Rose, shouldn’t the Rota argue that Burger King never cared if his affair was private and thus they are correcting a lie if they go to press with the infidelity?

    • Lorelei says:

      @Rawiya, IIRC, the human rights law that he cited covers the EU— post-Brexit, will he even still be able to rely on that as a legal defense?

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “He threatened to take them to the Human Rights Tribunal if they wrote stories about him sexin’ up his wife’s friend.”

      Well the UK left the EU so due to BREXIT I do not believe the Human Rights Tribunal wants any thing to do with the British Royal Family and are counting their lucky stars that they no longer have jurisdiction in the UK.

      • Lorelei says:

        @BayTampaBay, exactly. His legal team must have thought that was his best defense, so if he’s prohibited from using it anymore…? I’m sure they’ll try to come up with something, but the “human rights” thing was *really* a ridiculous stretch to begin with, considering all they were talking about was reporting on rumors concerning infidelity. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

  15. Slippers4life says:

    This is literally the definition of gaslighting.

  16. Matthew says:

    I hate that all of this terrorizes Meghan and Harry but if it wasn’t for them I would love watching this idiotic family scrambling around to the press to try to keep them sweet. They’re really the dumbest bag of rocks. Watching it all fall apart after the queen kicks off is truly going to be hilarious. Game of Thrones meets VEEP.

  17. TeamMeg says:

    The only sympathy I have for William is based on my hunch that he truly does have some kind of intellectual deficit or learning disability, and therefore truly is quite dumb, and has spent his entire life trying to hide it. I believe it’s wrong to make fun of people with disabilities. Aside from that, I abhor this spiteful, spineless man.

    • notasugarhere says:

      I don’t think it is an intellectual learning deficit, rather an emotional intelligence deficit. I think William is a classic narcissist who only cares for himself. He married another classic narcissist who only cares about herself. They are quite the pair.

    • Thirtynine says:

      I also get the feeling he’s never been interested enough in anything intellectual to really pursue it. His interests are elsewhere. He doesn’t have the motivation of studying r training for a job and we know he did as little as possible in the jobs he had. I think this is more the result of a wasted and lazy mind than an actual disability coupled with princely entitlement.

  18. Beach Dreams says:

    Mr. “I can no longer keep putting my arm around my brother” is playing very dangerously here. That quote alone shuts down his desperate lie. Someone posted a clip of the documentary on Twitter (I think Kaiser retweeted it) that explicitly stated William hired new people to “understand the newspapers better” after the Sussex wedding. “Clever, professional political operatives” was the description given too. I’m surprised they laid that bit out so blatantly.

  19. Sure says:

    So is W through his media proxy saying that the leaks were coming from CH & BP? I wonder how TQ & C feel about that joint statement now?

  20. Steph says:

    Once again, William proves he’s a pathological liar and a completely useless Royal. All these foundations need to fire both him and Kate and get patrons who can actually draw attention and money to them.

    • Jan90067 says:

      Whatever DID happen to the “inquiry” into the finances of the Royal Foundation they head? We never heard *any*thing about the findings (and we all have a good idea where the £££££s went *Middleton Manor*cough*cough*). Think of all the Patronages that went under due to lack of funding….

      • BayTampaBay says:

        I think the inquiry came back and said there was nothing “amiss or dodgy”. I think the original investigation had to do with funds given to Travalyst by the Royal Foundation then got deeper.

  21. Moderatelywealthy says:

    And they even fill in the blanks of the very unfavorable Peter Hunts quote…

    If this is the best they can do maybe Will&Co has proven to be an even worse tabloid seller than we expected it and this is how they signal in the tabloids they are reaching a breaking point.

  22. Lizzie Bathory says:

    I was re-watching The Royal House of Windsor on Netflix over the weekend & I was struck by how much William resembles David (King Edward VIII) in personality. David was fawned over by the media in his youth for his looks, but as an adult, he was lazy, had no sense of duty to the job he was born for & seemed too focused on his image in the papers.

    Increasingly, as much as the Windsors grouse about Sussexit being akin to the abdication, I wonder if the real concern all along was that William might abdicate or just not do the job. I wonder if the family & the courtiers realized William was another David & they’d need Harry in the wings in the event of an actual abdication or (more likely) abdication in all but name.

    • Moderatelywealthy says:

      I think they(RF/Men in grey) were hoping William would grow out if it and they might have felt the fact he suddenly became keen to be King was a sign he understood what would be expected of him just for him to fall short and shorter abd they had to change tactics.

      Those old traditional folks also tend to blame a lot on “wife’s influence.”…the idea that a good girl would be able to make a boy into a man,you know? It would not surprise me they privately blame Kate on indulging Wills lazyness but they can’t really say anything as she is the quintessential broad mare…

      Now the best they can do is to go all in and hype William and hope their audience will welcome a return to the Victorian Era when the monarch was not expected to do much at all.

      • Lizzie Bathory says:

        I think you’re right that they’ve resigned themselves to a Victorian monarch situation. Whatever failings the courtiers have, I think they can be forgiven for hoping William would grow up & choose to do the job like those who went before him.

        I remember reading that the courtiers didn’t think much of Kate for a long time, but that William came close to dropping out of St. Andrews (bored, lazy, a harbinger of things to come), but Kate convinced him to stay on. And the courtiers took it as a sign that she might be useful as a consort. Who knows if there’s any truth to it, but it stuck with me. Unfortunately for them, it seems impossible for Kate to do much but produce heirs, keep thin & grin manically while William looks over the whole thing.

    • Becks1 says:

      I have said on here a few times that I think William threatens to walk away all the time. It would both explain why the family seems to treat him with kid gloves, and why they didn’t take Harry that seriously when he talked about. Regardless of how serious william is, when he talks about it he’s going to get the Firm’s attention, bc he’s the heir and it would be a HUGE crisis if he removed himself from the line of succession. Harry didn’t remove himself from the line, he just stopped being a working royal, and I just don’t think anyone ever thought he would go through with it.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Becks, they should just call his bluff at this point. It is ridiculously out of control, the way he has them all by the balls with this “threat” always hanging over their heads. Yes he’s the heir, but so was Liz’s uncle, so that really means nothing. It’s why there’s an entire line of succession. William could walk away if he wanted to, but he’s definitely too cowardly to do it, so they should stop letting him manipulate them like this.

      • Sofia says:

        @Lorelei: I think the issue is that even if he does walk away and come back, the damage that the initial walking away will do is going to be… not good putting it mildly. And even if he doesn’t actually walk away and just puts a statement out saying he will and then later changes his mind, then that will also cause a lot of damage that the royals and the courtiers do not want to deal with.

      • Gina says:

        This is definitely bluff. William would never abdicate. Being King, being the most important person in the room is all he wants, I’m sure. Maybe he hates living in fishbowl but he likes his position, money, power, prestige of it. Add to this that this is only thing he can do (doubtful, he is suitable for the role but I’m sure he feels entitled).

      • PrincessK says:

        I agree the Queen and Charles both prefer Harry but because they want the succession to continue they pander to whatever he wants. I think that they are privately furious that William drove the Sussexes out of the royal family. I can’t think of any of the royals who like William. He did not invite Fergie to his wedding, the Wessexes need to stay on his right side because they don’t want to be cut off financially, l don’t think William is close to the Spencer’s, you should have seen the warmth between Harry and his aunties at the statue unveiling compared to William who just looked awkward and didn’t want Harry to chat with them for too long.

    • Winter Day says:

      @Lizzie Bathory, I wondered about that concern as well.

  23. Scorpion says:

    Isn’t it hilarious how the Sussexes are keeping quiet and not issuing a single statement.

    The emptiest cart always rattles the loudest 😂😂😂

  24. Nanea says:

    … and the Derangers keep insisting Harry is the dumb one in the family.

    That’s how deranged they are!

    (… and that includes everyone at Keensington Palace and every single one of the Middletonedeafs of Bucklebury Palace too. BH and CP have been beyond hopeless for a long time…)

  25. Over it says:

    Hi willyleaks, hell is awaiting your arrival, you disgusting egghead.

  26. kelleybelle says:

    What an ugly, vile soul. Irredeemable. #PrinceWilliamisaliar

  27. Amy Bee says:

    William spoke openly about Harry to the former editor of the Sunday Times so he’s stupid and a liar.

  28. What says:

    Does anyone have the link to the documentary

  29. Gk says:

    The RF making a big deal of this documentary is worse then letting it go IMO. It brings greater attention to it. Plus it probably isn’t as bad as they think.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      i don’t trust them. they are overhyping this and no one is making any attempt to repair the broken relationships. something is not adding up.

  30. Jay says:

    William must be on the phone to Scotland Yard as we speak, demanding a thorough investigation of Kensington Palace to find the traitors who leaked confidential information about his own family members! We know how seriously they took two year old bullying allegations, and this is arguably more serious and ongoing!

    Sure, it might take a lengthy and uncomfortable investigation, and it will be sad to fire so many of his staff, but how can William hope to take his place on the world stage otherwise? What government or organization would want to work with him if his staff is so unreliable? William won’t rest until he finds out who was disloyal enough to disobey his express orders about briefing the press, because justice must be done.

  31. blunt talker says:

    If this were true why did some tabloid reporters say this info came from which palace-William and Charles can’t control their households it seems-They need to look back at certain reporters who stated it came from the royal family households before they comment about briefing against other family members.

  32. lee says:

    “William was clear from the start we were never to brief and never to say anything about anyone in the other households. He’d lived through that in the ’90s with his parents in the War of the Waleses and doesn’t ever want it happening again. He’s in a much better place (with the Press) than his brother.”

    Notice the senior royal source doesn’t provide his name and made his statements on background. The reporters, editors and lawyers who received the scoops on H&M know who is the briefer and if Prince William is not telling the truth they will own him. My theory about this program is that it’s the UK establishment way of warning the Royals that they will not receive the same level of protection (ignoring) from the press once the Queen departs this world. The days of giving the team a pass are over.