How Prince Charles’s Plan To Protect Prince William And Prince Harry Backfired

Following Princess Diana’s death, Prince William wasn’t fond of interacting with the paparazzi. When Prince Charles attempted to secure his children’s privacy by giving photographers the opportunity to follow William around, his plan turned into a complete disaster.

The 2015 BBC documentary, “Reinventing the Royals,” detailed how the Prince of Wales’ plan to maintain peace with the paparazzi in 2010 almost fell apart.

Charles’ former press aide, Sandy Henney revealed the photo opportunity was supposed to give photographers rare access to a young William ahead of a milestone celebration.

“The project was their way of saying thank you to Fleet Street for having given Prince William the space and privacy he needed to have a peaceful education and life at Eton. The pictures were for publication just before his 18th birthday.”

While his birthday may have been something to look forward to, William had no interest in being tailed by photographers.

“This was a young man whose mother had been killed and the press had been on forth. He just did not like the media. We were trying to convince him that we’re not all that bad,” ITN Cameraman Eugene Campbell explained.

Although Prince William went along with Prince Charles’ request, the plan almost cost the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry their privacy. Steve Hewlett revealed Charles’ plan “blew up into an almighty row” when one outlet released the photos earlier than the rest of the publications.

The exclusive access gave the outlet time to create an aesthetically pleasing spread of the young Prince for their readers. “Instead of releasing pressure, it threatened to destroy the whole agreement protecting the privacy of the young princes,” Hewlett shared.

“The photographs were meant to be shared with all the newspapers. However, photographer Mr. Jones was on contract with the Daily Telegraph newspaper at the time and the editors had access to the pictures ahead of their arrival.”

This did not sit well with other outlets which slammed the preferential treatment the Daily Telegraph received. As a result, Henney resigned from her position and Buckingham Palace released a statement, apologizing for the incident.