King Charles’s courtiers tried to censor the story last month about his funeral plans

In late June, the Telegraph dropped a huge exclusive on a Friday. The exclusive was: King Charles has updated his funeral plans, code named Operation London Bridge, to include the Sussex family prominently. According to well-placed sources, Charles is “adamant that his youngest son take his rightful place at the centre of his family” during the funeral and Harry will be expected to “walk side by side with his brother, by then the King, at the forefront of the sombre processions through the streets of central London.” Not only that, but Charles wants Archie and Lilibet “to attend the funeral service at Westminster Abbey, as well as the committal at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.”

The Telegraph’s story got a lot of attention internationally, but there wasn’t a lot of secondary coverage of the exclusive within the British media or the tabloids. That’s because King Charles’s communications director Tobyn Andreae issued a strongly-worded plea/threat to the rota which convinced them not to cover it. The threat? You’ll lose access if you dare repeat what the Telegraph reported. Also, the leak about Operation London Bridge came from inside Buckingham Palace in the first place. All of this “how the communications sausage is made” drama is because the Daily Beast published copies of Andreae’s messages to the rota!! OMG.

Buckingham Palace’s top aides are in a tailspin after leaked plans for the death of King Charles made it into the media—sparking a huge censorship operation to “contain the spill.” 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.

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.

[From The Daily Beast]

You can go to the Daily Beast to see their publication of Andreae’s message, which I’m sure will cause even more problems within the rota system. My guess is that the Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes received Andreae’s message and Sykes passed it off to another reporter (Tom Latchem) at the DB to “keep his hands clean” and stay in Andreae’s good graces. Honestly, when I read the Telegraph’s story last month, it felt like it was an official move from Buckingham Palace, like they actually wanted the story out there. I’m surprised to learn that Andreae was spitting mad about it and threatening to remove rota access if they covered the Telegraph’s exclusive. Anyway, just another reminder that the royal comms offices could do a lot more to shut down the most egregious, racist, sexist and insulting stories about the Sussexes but the offices choose not to.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

90 Responses to “King Charles’s courtiers tried to censor the story last month about his funeral plans”

  1. JT says:

    The funeral plans were leaked by BP staff, but the Sussexes leaked the news about the summit? Sure Jan.

    • Beth says:

      Nobody seems to have caught on that these leaks could actually bring the Charles and Sussex teams closer together. After all, they now know that neither of them are leaking. Someone in BP may think they’re doing KP a favour by trying to scupper reconciliation moves. Busted?

    • VeryV says:

      Hahahaha! I bet the leak was planted because it was the only way to motivate Peg to be on best behavior for the funeral is to threaten to have Harry front and center. Lol

      • Rumorhasiti says:

        I sincerely hope the Sussexes send a thoughtfully put together wreath and William refuses to have it placed….

        I know Harry is going to go, but man read the room. William is gonna be king and he’s severely unhinged. Charles deserves no more of your effort or time or consideration. Do the right thing for your kids and avoid this dumpster fire. It’s not worth the risk otherwise…..

  2. Jais says:

    Woooow. So Sykes likely passed it along, which is still pretty much screwing over Tobyn Andrae, someone who just cut William out of a peace summit. Is this part of William’s revenge or just a general backlash from the rota.
    Sidenote- I didn’t realize there was an international rota of 30 members. I figured they got in touch with certain international outlets sure but I hadn’t thought of it as another full on rota. Wonder who all’s in it?

    • sevenblue says:

      There are a lot of american daytime shows kissing royals’ asses and talking sh*t about H&M. NBC is one of them that cut the Epstein & Andrew story when the palace threatened them with no access to Kate & Will. The Today Show with Hoda Kotb at NBC also got access to Charles & Camilla and got invited to the palace.

    • Lady Esther says:

      Agree. I’d bet this is Camilla hanging Tobyn Andrea out to dry, because he is “betraying” her by being a key public player at the “peace summit.” I don’t think William has the wit to do this even though Tom Sykes/DB is his usual press contact.

      I also think that Tobyn was so upset probably because the “peace summit” was already being planned, and having the news of a possible Charles-Sussex reconciliation could f*ck everything up. The Telegraph’s headline wasn’t even so much about Charles’ funeral as the prominent role to be played by Harry, Meghan and the kids. BP wants to control the “reconciliation” storyline as much as possible so that Charles comes out the big winner, and this leak messed with those plans by letting everyone in on the game.

      • jais says:

        The thing is someone leaked that funeral information to the Telegraph. Someone from BP. You think it was Camilla? Bc she doesn’t even want Harry at the funeral? Maybe? That’s a lot though.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Harry said somewhere (in Spare?) that leaking plans to the press is an effective way of scuppering them . So someone probably do not want the Sussexes taking a prominent place at Charles’ funeral. My bet is on Camilla. That woman is diabolical and very experience with playing press games.

      • jais says:

        I keep going back and forth. It could’ve been Camilla for the funeral leak. But that def screwed over Tobyn, as you can see him threatening the rota in those messages. Maybe she didn’t care though.

    • Lady Esther says:

      @jais No, I mean that the leaking of the Tobyn WhatsApp messages was likely Camilla/one of her flunkys as retribution for the “peace summit.”

      The original leaking of Charles’ funeral plans to the Telegraph prominently featuring the Sussexes could have been any BP staffers who were working on it, many of whom are not Harry and Meghan fans and who could see future goodies coming by establishing a link with the Telegraph.

      • jais says:

        Ah got it. Hmm. Interesting. Messy. To me, it just seems like backstabbing your principals. If Charles wants Harry at the his funeral or to have a peace summit with Harry’s people, shouldn’t his people be wanting to help him, the king, as opposed to leaking to the papers. Harry once said that once something is leaked, it usually doesn’t happen, which was in reference to them possibly moving to a commonwealth country. So was this leak done by someone in the hopes of preventing Harry and his family from being a part of the funeral plans? Messy, either way, jeez.

      • Is That So? says:

        I don’t think the staffers necessarily are there to help the principals. They might well be there to ensure that the principal stick to a particular narrative that will help the monarchy as institution, the government, or the staffer’s careers. They aren’t there for the individual person.

        Many of the folks working for the Sussexes [hired by Willie] weren’t their to help their principals.

        What I got from Prince Harry is that Elizabeth was controlled by her courtiers towards the end, probably under Charles directives and their own sense of ‘monarchy’ to slow walk or ignore Elizabeth’s desires.

  3. sevenblue says:

    So, is this coming from KP, Will? To publish that, they would be pretty certain the next King will not cut their access to the funeral, right? Also, yes, as it is proven time and time again, the palace aides can shut down any story they want with threatening their access. They chose not to do that for Meghan & Harry.

    • Blogger says:

      Yup, Willy the leaky. He is Sykes’ rat after all.

      • sunnyside up says:

        Might have been looking for information using his wife’s assistant who was stalking Meghan and all those involved with her.

  4. Ciotog says:

    I cannot believe Charles expects the Sussexes to publicly mourn him after everything he did to them. The unmitigated gall!

    • ParkRunMum says:

      Yeah, this is where it cuts deepest for me. You could argue Harry ought to be at his father’s funeral, as they were apparently close until the sh*tstorm about Meghan hit the fan…. And you could even make the case that, once Harry pressed the eject button, Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth II were effectively doing him a favour by not facilitating the half-in, half-out arrangement, knowing what they both doubtless knew about William and his psychotic obsessive rage-a-thon. Harry was better off as far away as possible. You could even argue that Harry has likely some residual loyalty to the institution, even if his father let him down on a personal level. You could argue that he’s mature enough to make that distinction, and see the nuances, what his father tried to be, and what he actually is, and that we’re all human and party to that equation. But Meghan and the kids? They don’t owe the UK, the monarchy, or Charles himself a thing. The suggestion that they should pay tribute to someone who — personally and institutionally — enabled their persecution, who put them at risk, who made them feel worthless, and unwanted, before the astonished eyes of the entire watching world, that’s a bit rich. FAFO, dude. Those kids and their mum are going to laugh when you kick the bucket. And they’re never coming back. You blew it.

    • Megan says:

      He is such a vain and petty man. He has no relationship with Harry and his family, but it will look good for them to be at his funeral so he thinks he can dictate their appearance.

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      Not to mention expecting his grandchildren to do so for a man they don’t even know. Highly unlikely that their parents would agree to have them suddenly thrust into the limelight on the world’s biggest stage.

    • Blogger says:

      And expect Archie and Lili to attend too? The one who was called the monkey? The two who were labelled as surrogate babies? And no one from the Palaces ever corrected the record?

      Ummm…so it rewards the rats with their money shot?

      This will definitely piss off the Lazies as Archie and Lili appearing will throw them off the front pages.

    • sunnyside up says:

      I expect Harry will attend his father’s funeral, but if Charlie wants his grandchildren at the services he must be expecting to live for quite some time yet, the children are too young at the moment, and it isn’t as if they have any love for him, they don’t know him.

      • BeanieBean says:

        It would be downright cruel to force children that young to attend such a long & public event.

    • Me at home says:

      Is there any provision to provide security for the Sussexes while they attend the funeral and stay in Britain? Because otherwise this is a useless demand, and Charles knows it.

      • BeanieBean says:

        And even if there were, William would revoke it the second he becomes king. That would be #1 on his to do list after Charles passes.

      • sunnyside up says:

        If he did revoke it it would make William look very bad. Not a good way to start the job. Of course the British press would be censored and the people would just be told that Harry decided he wouldn’t come, so lets hope Harry tells the world what William did.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      More than have them as public mourners, this emotionally absent, 💩 father wants to use his grown sons as human shields again, blatantly compounding unhealed wounds from the untimely loss of their mother, when they were forced to do the same thing.

      Expecting the Sussexes to additionally trot out their children to pay off old debts to the tabloids, as an exercise in family control tactics, and as a tool of manipulation and potential humiliation in line with what was heaped upon Meghan during Her Late Maj’s funeral, is beyond anything reasonable. Though Meghan handled every insult with a grace the family didn’t deserve, as a no longer “working royal” with 2 children who are also not “working royals”, she is not obligated to subject herself and her progeny to this enormity.

      Harry may desire the closure from attending but putting him on display is screwy. Let him sit in the back like at the con a nation.

    • Christine says:

      Agreed, and what does Charles even gain by this? He’s going to be dead after all. Is he aiming for a footnote “at least both of his sons cared enough to attend his funeral”? This is all so strange

      • Moniquep says:

        I believe the leaking of the plans is all a gambit to feed the narrative of Charles being the sad grandfather, who dearly wants to have a relationship with his grandchildren. But it’s Harry that’s being stubborn, but mostly Meghan, that has him by the nuts and is impeding any healing of the relationship.

  5. Well of course they must figure prominently at his funeral! What a joke they don’t figure in any way shape or form while Chuckles is alive.

  6. M says:

    “I expect to have my grandchildren present at my funeral, but I’ll be damned if I meet them while I’m alive” is one hell of a position to take.

  7. bisynaptic says:

    They’re a shit show, all around, aren’t they. So, who inside BP leaked the funeral plans and why?

    • jais says:

      That’s what I’m curious about. Like Kaiser, I assumed it was an intentional l leak. I guess I gave them too much credit for being able to shut down leaks about themselves. When there’s gossip about the Sussexes, I always just assume it’s an intentional leak from BP or KP. But apparently this one was not. So BP’s ship is not secure. Yikes.

      • Blogger says:

        I agree with others – the Rottweiler ain’t happy.

        Her kids and grandkids probably don’t have a role.

      • Magdalena says:

        The planning of the funeral includes staff from both BP and KP, so my money is on someone from KP leaking it, in a bid to scupper the plans to “centre” the Sussexes. Remember Harry said that the palaces leak stuff that they want to derail, because once the details are out there it’s almost guaranteed that the thing that was leaked about won’t happen.

    • Hypocrisy says:

      They sure are.. I can’t imagine living such a messy life.

    • Blithe says:

      Camilla? Stirring up rancor among others that Chuckie might care about seems to be her thing.

      She might want to ensure that she’s the central figure as a publicly grieving widow — the last time that she will get to be the focus of such attention. IMO, increasing speculations about Meghan and the kids prematurely makes it less likely that they would attend. I’d guess that Operation London Bridge is planned and updated in multiple versions, and what got published and talked about is just one of them.

      • jais says:

        That’s what I was just thinking too. That leaking the info about the Sussexes early, whether from Camilla or someone else within BP, might have been a way to make it less likely they would attend, or at least less likely that they would have a central focus in the funeral plans.

    • Becks1 says:

      Im curious about all of this.

      Leaking the BP funeral plans – I thought that was actually BP trying to make Charles look good, like he was trying to get ahead of any Sussex issues at his funeral – establishing in advance that they would have a prominent place etc. I thought it was actually well played by Charles because then if they DIDN’T have a prominent place, it would reflect poorly on william and start his reign off on a bad note. So given that, I wonder if it was Camilla – in kind of a 2 for 1 – if releasing plans was the way to scupper them according to Harry, then Camilla may have effectively changed the funeral plans but in such a public way that it will reflect poorly on William. If so, well played Camilla, well played. But, if this was Camilla, I’m not sure she’d go to the Telegraph? But maybe her person would?

      As for leaking the whatsapp messages – that may have just been the DB all on its own, but why? I am not sure that story was authorized by any palace because it makes all the palaces look bad, because it shows the extents to which BP and KP can and will go to control stories/narratives. So I can almost see that as poking the bear a bit from DB. I dont know.

      I can understand why BP might not want funeral plans out there considering Charles’ health, but the late queen’s funeral was discussed often enough.

      • Eurydice says:

        I can see Camilla trying to undermine William, but the deed has already been done with Harry. Camilla is scheming and self-serving, but she’s not nuts – she knows that Harry won’t come back to the fold. And once Charles is dead, what difference does it make to her if Harry and Meghan attend the funeral? And I’m not sure that it takes a lot of scheming to make William look bad – he’s his own worst enemy. She’ll be lounging in her country home, sipping gin and watching the meltdown.

        I can totally see this as the DB poking the bear, the British press straining against their leashes or some other rebellion. The Telegraph came right out to declare their autonomy, and the DB crawled out from under the bushes to say “Me too.”

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        @Becks1 I had a thought: what if this version of Op London Bridge was from 2024? What if Cluck had put it before Harry in their brief February 2024 meeting, and Harry was adamant that neither he nor his family would be used in this way?

        With all of Huevo’s recent “when I am king soon” press briefings, and the uproar following Harry’s BBC interview, one gets the sense that the Chicken in Chief at The Firm is operating on borrowed time.

        I think the timing of putting this out there was highly suspicious, and possibly done to goad a response from the Sussexes in order to then paint them in the press as heartless.

        It’s once again, BP trying to set up a narrative wherein the Sussexes are ‘damned if they do, damned if they don’t’, regardless of how they respond.

        In which case the best response from Team Sussex, at present, is none at all. Feign deafness until actual invites are issued, as with the con a nation. Then negotiate firmly as to terms of participation.

      • convict says:

        These sorts of issues arise every now and then, though not this personal, of course. The monarch’s funeral has to be planned decades in advance, given what is involved.

        I think Charles is sensitive because he may well be dying.

  8. Eurydice says:

    Interesting. They act like they’ve never heard a word Harry has said about BP and the press.

  9. Anne says:

    He probably wants the Sussexes there so people will want to line the streets to catch a glimpse of H & M or boost the tv audience.

    • Henny Penny says:

      That’s how this all reads to me. Chuckles doesn’t have long to live and has finally realized that 1) History is not going to be kind to him, and 2) Nobody is going to attend or watch his funeral unless Harry shows up with the fam.

      Harry named Camilla the villain of this story, and this has Camilla’s fingerprints all over it. She must live in fear of what might happen to her if Charles and Harry or William and Harry ever do make up.

      • Tessa says:

        Unless William gets counseling he will stay incandescent about harry and be like a bitter ex.

      • Jais says:

        At the same time, the world will pay attention to his funeral even if only Harry goes. But of course more would pay attention if the entire Sussex family went. And I do not think the wales want that. They would want their family to be at the center. The very thought of Harry Meghan and Archie and LIli all being there must give them the vapors. Or hives or something. I don’t know what will happen and I’m gonna let the Sussex family decide for themselves but I am certain that the wales do not want them there. And maybe also Camila does not. Someone commented that it will be her last big moment and I can see that. They don’t want to share. Whereas Charles will be gone and just wants all the world’s eyes on his funeral.

  10. Amy Bee says:

    I was going to say the same thing Kaiser said the Palace did have the power to shut down the stories about Harry and Meghan. This story only vindicates Harry and Meghan. Plus derangers were accusing Harry and Meghan of leaking this story when clearly that story came from BP.

    • sunnyside up says:

      They managed to shut down the story about Kate’s aide stalking Meghan and those around her. It seems to me that that was the most important story over the last couple of weeks about the royals no wonder the ‘peace’ meeting and the funeral plans were released.

    • Tessa says:

      The derangers spread story Meghan and harry leaked the story to the dm . Which is one of the most absurd things they ever said.

  11. Gemini says:

    This is a hit job on Tobyn Andreae. After being left out of the secret summit, the rota and Willy’s men are retaliating. It is delicious to watch.

    I don’t want the Sussexes to deal with the rota and the palaces ever again and I think the secret summit was only about IG. Even one gesture of alliance between Charles and Harry can cause this much reaction, it shows you once again how much power Harry has over William.

    I am wondering Cowmilla’s stand on this. Is she enjoying William’s meltdown? Or is she showing Tobyn Andreae who is the boss?

    • Blogger says:

      Tobyn is a cunning rat though so if the Rottweiler thinks hanging him out to dry can easily change and he’ll soon have his revenge.

      They’re petty that way.

    • Eurydice says:

      I don’t think Camilla is directly involved. She seems to be more “give a hint, then sit back to watch the show.” I’m sure she’s loving every moment of this from the comfort of her quarters – after all, William is Diana’s son, too.

    • jais says:

      It absolutely is a hit job on Tobyn. And yeah, I think I lean more towards it coming from William than Camilla. Bc Sykes and the DB are so close to “William’s friend.” And William has been mad as hell about the peace summit. So here he is throwing one of the “peacemakers,” Charles and Camilla’s guy, strait under the bus. My only other theory is that some of the rota members are annoyed with missing out on the peace summit scoop and are throwing him under the bus in retaliation. But you never know with Camilla so who knows?

      • QuiteContrary says:

        I agree with all of that, jais, except for the rota members retaliating for missing out on the peace summit scoop.

        None of them are exactly enterprising journalists … they’re accustomed to being stenographers, printing whatever is spoonfed to them by the palaces.

        I can see William, however, retaliating for being cut out of the peace summit.

      • Jaded says:

        This has William’s and Knauf’s fingerprints all over it. We all know William’s jealousy and neverending desire for revenge has tainted just about everything he does. He may be a total dunce but he has a back-stabbing snake in the grass feeding him these chess moves, and supporting and encouraging his every decision as long as it involves smearing the Sussexes. Those two are willing to throw anyone under the bus, including Charles and Camilla.

      • CherryBerry says:

        I agree with you Jais, this seems like Williams doing. He was raging mad about the summit peace talks and he’s on one of his destructive rage fits that will probably last weeks.

        It’s been obvious they’ve been quarreling lately. From KC getting mad about the Ascot absence and then putting out the lazy articles about Kate right afterwards, then Katie putting out how she’s still not fully recovered, because cancer, to stop the bad press.
        Then the state dinner, where Katie was blocked by candelabras once again, and William sitting during the applause for King Charles.
        Then the news of these Peace talks. This, though, involved Harry, and William goes scorched earth when it comes to Harry.

  12. sevenblue says:

    Why do people believe the statement that the leak came from BP? These people lie every day on H&M, they are not above lying for KP / Will. Did the plans get shared with KP for their participation?

    • jais says:

      Oooh. Okay, that’s true. I’m treating this like a whodunnit mystery. Who leaked the funeral plans? And yes, it could have been someone from KP. Or someone from BP who is secretly working with KP and feeding them info. Messy.

    • Gemini says:

      I think it is more than possible the the leak about the funeral plans came from Will’s side and the objective was to cause more hatred towards the Sussexes for being included in something that they have no control over and towards Charles for including his son. Will wanted this so called funeral plans out there so when the time came, he would not include the Sussexes and boast about snubbing them. He day dreams about this stuff.

    • Becks1 says:

      honestly I have no idea. This is all so messy. It could be anyone from any side lol. So many motivations.

  13. twocentmary says:

    He was probably upset because someone leaked it to the Telegraph and he had probably promised funeral planning exclusives to the Daily Mail.
    Also another thought of why he was upset is because the meeting with the Sussex team was already planned. And if the funeral plans leaked after that meeting, they could blame it on the Sussex team once again and something something, hundreds of articles of how Charles/William will punish them for it, blah blah blah.

    • sevenblue says:

      Wow, I never thought of it like that, but it is true, if the funeral plan was leaked after the meeting, they would blame it on H&M for weeks. Timing really changed the narrative.

    • jais says:

      Okay, that’s funny. The thing about these rota whatsapps is that they all get the information and there’s very little excitement at getting a scoop. It’s kind of a collective but you’d think they’d all be more competitive than that.

  14. Blogger says:

    “Tobyn Andreae, “had a meltdown on the phone”

    Poor baby 😭

    So emotional. Unfit for his job. Such a conflict to have a WhatsApp group with the rats. And the rats don’t care how it looks like to be part of the Windsor propaganda arm.

    Wonder if Sykes has been kicked out of this WhatsApp group? Having the DB publish the screenshots of these messages must raise questions of confidentiality and privacy. Did the minion give consent? If not, would love a lawsuit to appear.

    The rats have been restless this week. 😂

  15. Chrissie T says:

    I don’t think Charles gives a damn about Harry or William. The only person he cares about is himself. He’s also probably got a bit of OCD, we saw that with the pen, so he will be obsessing over his funeral until the day he dies. The summit is also only about how he is perceived rather than any desire to have a relationship with his son. I would guess on top of that BP and KP staff are at war. Every time one of them opens their mouth they prove Harry was right to get out.

    • Andrea says:

      Absolutely. He’s choosing the music, Hymns, the Readings, the readers, the horses, the seating chart. Including Harry, Meghan and the kids probably isn’t important to him. It’s the institution that is deciding they will be invited because of optics and headlines. They know the focus will be the Sussex’s whether they attend or not.

  16. aquarius64 says:

    Meghan and the kids weren’t at Chuck’s coronation. Why would these idiots think they woild be at his funeral? Or at Bulliam’s coronation? If Harry at least doesn’t show that will be the lead story by the world press about these two events.

  17. sunnyside up says:

    They managed to shut down the story about Kate’s aide stalking Meghan and those around her. It seems to me that that was the most important story over the last couple of weeks about the royals no wonder the ‘peace’ meeting and the funeral plans were released.

  18. JENNIFER says:

    What is most egregious about this story is the fact that, these “journalist” knew the meeting between Harry and Charles’s teams was not leaked by Harry and Meghan. It was possibly by same person who leaked the London bridge story.
    And yet they’ve been on tv and radio and lying that the leak came from the Sussexes. And the fact that Charles’s office could stop this abuse but won’t, should tell the sussexes that Charles is not serious about this reconciliation.

  19. Advisor2U says:

    The camps (the unhappy client journalists and the palaces’ Comms teams and their principals) are fighting over something big.

    Andreae is leaking stories (beyond official palace statements and secret Rota Whatsapp groups), to his former bosses at the DF and MoS (the latest: the ”reconciliation” meet up, completely with pap pics), but get pissed when someone in his own palace office is leaking his leaks to camp Willy.
    Just be clear: Sykes = British = camp KP = Willy.

    And these backstabbers and leakers keep telling the public all day long that Prince Harry can’t be trusted – because he leaks private family info. (To whom actually? As far as we know, Harry tells his side of the stories, the mistreatments and unjust done to him and his family, in his own words, …. openly. Not anonymously to a third nameless party).

  20. Is That So? says:

    Somehow this information and the information about the ‘peace summit’ are making connections in my mind. I feel as if there are forces in Buckingham Palace with diametrical desires. One group wants a rapprochement with the Sussex to polish the monarchy’s reputation and the other wants to maintain the status quo/increase the rancor.

    The Daily Fail is the last of the tabloid (dragons) that Prince Harry (St George) is fighting. The Fail would benefit from an increase in rancor. This makes me wonder whose directive Tobyn (the former editor of the Fail) is responding to, King Chuck, Camilla, or his own?

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      The timing, months before the next Daily Fail lawsuit court date, is also an interesting dimensional twist.

      It feels like Cluck is on the ebb; when Her Late Maj began to fail in health, there was also a schism amongst courtiers. You could see from how briefings were coming out from BP and KP that courtiers were jockeying for position in the next reign. This showed up a lot in articles on the Sussexes. Contradictory tittle tattling seemed to indicate rival factions within BP.

      I think it’s happening again.

      Fred & Gladys may present a united front, but their respective courtiers sure as hell don’t. And KP has demonstrated zero loyalty to BP. It’s part and parcel of why all of Cluck’s reign has been such a phenomenal shitshow; courtiers with all the power, but lacking in any dignity or integrity, or even any basic common sense whatsoever. As bad as the principals at the palaces are, the courtiers overseeing the manipulations and the press comms are the ones really destroying the monarchy. They are putting themselves out of a job with this nonsense; you’d think they’d be self aware enough to see that wall coming to meet them. Tsk… clearly not.

  21. Grandma Susan says:

    hello Charles, um, you’ll be dead. You won’t know who is or is not at your funeral. And for all the sh!t you heaped on Harry and his family you don’t *deserve their presence*. I’m sure Harry will mourn. He did love his worthless father, but I believe he’ll do his mourning in private.

  22. SarahCS says:

    “an event of world significance”

    Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

    Sure, keep telling yourselves that. The vast majority of the world DNGAF.

    Given the complaints that coverage was OTT when Philip died I very much look forward to people going OFF when they try to treat Charles like Liz.

  23. Mslove says:

    OMG, is this what the peasants are paying for? Palace intrigue, leaking, and lies? While their subjects starve to death? Has everyone gone mad over there? Geez.

  24. Me at home says:

    Leaking Andreae’s WhatsApp meltdown had a lot of collateral damage, hitting BP and, by extension, KP too. In particular, the WhatsApp messaging sheds an incredibly bright spotlight on how BP (and KP) can control and twist press reporting by threatening to withhold access. Begging questions like the ones you guys have asked here, such as why did they shut down Kate’s stalker story when they aren’t shutting down the horrific abuse of Meghan and Harry over many years???

    Whoever leaked the WhatsApp meltdown must have foreseen the other message, about the palaces controlling the press, becoming crystal clear.

    Would William or Camilla direct their minions to put out there this particular message about their sources of power? I mean, sure, Andreae looks like a child who’s lost control, and maybe this punished him to some extent for participating in the peace talks–but it would also teach him to just be more discreet in the future and don’t leak to the Mail at all. And Andreae’s meltdown seems like small potatoes compared to 👀 Hey everyone! The palaces direct what the tabloids publish and don’t publish! 👀. Also William and Camilla have plenty of other, more traditional, avenues for derailing the peace talks–in ways that don’t hurt themselves, too–such as making up utter cr@p like they usually do about Harry wanting to return part-time or demanding a house and security and HRHs, or whatever.

    The optimist in me thinks this is the first part of a wedge of press rebellion against BP and KP, following the Telegraph’s lead. This might be a recent example *in writing* that someone can use. The fact that William’s mouthpiece Sykes, though Tom Latchem, who is almost certainly not among the 30 lucky international roster, surprises me. Who knows, it’s probably back to business as usual tomorrow.

    • Becks1 says:

      This is something that is circling around in my head. Leaking those texts/messages has negative consequences for both BP and KP, because no one for a minute thinks that William’s comm person hasn’t had the same sort of meltdowns to the press (probably about everything.)
      And if someone at the DB got these messages or was given them by someone at the DM or wherever – there wouldn’t need to be a leak from KP or BP with these, the Daily Beast could just run the story.

      And why would the BP comms person be screaming if this was leaked by BP – whether it be Charles or Camilla?

      this is all very messy and I have to wonder if the press is sort of starting to maybe kind of grow a little tiny spine.

      But like you said, probably back to business as usual tomorrow.

      • Blithe says:

        Doesn’t that assume that Charles and Camilla — BP — are on the same page? They may not be — especially “long” term, as Camilla plans and plots her future.

      • Me at home says:

        Including that fifth paragraph of Andreae’s message was a choice. That’s the para where he threatens to cut off BP access to any writer—and their media outlet—who report on Charles’ will. The whole message still scans fine without that 5th para.

        Camilla is still part of the big BP machine, whether or not she agrees with Charles on the particular issue of Harry. Same for Bulliam. I can’t see them undermining the BP machine, because they still need it, by exposing how BP threatens the press.

        Which is why I hope against hope that publishing Andreae’s threats is the first squeaks of a press rebellion. Who knows.

  25. chantale says:

    That Tobyn Andreae guy leaked the summit to the daily fail and it blew up in his face. Bully boy and his ” Jason Knuff” had his Rota friends leaked the WhatsApp messages. I would enjoy this feud if I did not think that Tobyn Andreaen is playing both side and that would not be surprising since the leak came from BP. Tobyn Andreae is trying to get a secure job if Chucky died and Bully boy becomes king.

  26. MsKrisTalk says:

    I think Charles is working overtime to to receive the same attention in death that his mother received. He is dangling the carrot of “This is your opportunity to finally see Archie and Lilibet so you must show up.” He is hoping for a large attendance and viewing like his mother. It’s apparent that he doesn’t receive the reverence that Queen Elizabeth received and I believe that it truly bothers him. Having the entire Sussex family present and active would insure media presence. He wants to visual. He wants nothing to do with his son’s family in life because it takes the attention away from him but their presence after his death will draw the attention that he craves. I won’t be surprised that Charles leaked his funeral plans.

Commenting Guidelines

Read the article before commenting.

We aim to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy and our privacy policy

Do not engage with trolls, contrarians or rude people. Comment "troll" and we will see it.

Please e-mail the moderators at cbcomments at gmail.com to delete a comment if it's offensive or spam. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please email us to get it retrieved.

You can sign up to get an image next to your name at Gravatar.com Thank you!

Leave a comment after you have read the article

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment