A 40 Year Symbiotic Relationship – Time Up
Episode 82
The Invisible Contract Between The British Royal Family and the Tabloid Media via the Royal Rota
Throughout all 3 sections of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, there were two main themes or threads running through every chapter. Every incident or action or words spoken which resulted in a negative outcome, always featured either someone or people within the Royal Family (sometimes via staff members, but all of whom would have been sanctioned to act that way by their particular lead Royal) or via the UK Tabloid Media. Across all the tabloids, there are designated staff who only cover The Royal Family, and no other news within the UK, and are known as the Royal Rota. Some members of the Royal Rota are seen or heard of now and then, but there is clearly a clique that has formed over the years, and who are covering the Royals every day of every year; or rather they were up until 2016. Since 2016 their focus and their income has considerably increased when they include the name of Harry or Meghan, particularly Meghan in their fairy tales or hate inciting pieces in their respective rags. With each tabloid writing on average 25 or so taleseach day about The Sussexes, the rest of the Royal Family combined come nowhere near in popularity or income generation for the tabloids. Hate sells in the UK. Division encourages and incites negative behaviour in the UK, at least within the right wing population. The propaganda is working, because more people have discovered that they have no conscience and have recognised the money to be made by posting hate filled things on social media, and setting up You Tube channels selling hate and able to give up full time work to do it, because it pays much much more. You Tube enables the abuse that is aired daily, because it makes 60% from each video produced from the advertising revenue. Equally advertisers clearly turn a blind eye to the abuse, because money is being made. I will never forget one former Royal Reporter who had worked for the Royal family for over 30 years, and he gave an interview where he said the money he earned in the 4 years of covering Harry and Meghan, was more than what he earned in 30 years covering all the Royals. That gives you some idea of the money generated.
Questions should have been asked years before now, why with a dwindling Royal Family who are referred to as Working Royals, why the Royal Rota is ever present, and there is next to no reduction in their vast number. The clique referred to earlier, see themselves in the top tier of journalism, and clearly feel and are treated with a degree of reverence by the Royal Family, and the Rota in turn feel entitled and arrogant in their approach to gathering news.
What Is The Royal Rota?
According to an article, shown in an edition of Town and Country (ref source below) it stated the following explanation:-
“The royal rota is a pool of journalists from British newspapers. As Harry and Meghan explain on their website, “The Royal Rota was established more than 40 years ago as a way of giving UK print and broadcast media exclusive inside access to the official engagements of members of the Royal Family.”
It was first required in part due to logistical and security reasons. “Due to space restrictions and security, it is rarely possible to allow all media who wish to cover a royal engagement equal access to the event. A rota, or pool system, was therefore introduced,” reads the UK’s News Media Association website.”
One of the RR reporters Victoria Murphy stated in the Town and Country article the following:-
“This system gives journalists from U.K.-based national newspapers and broadcasters the opportunity to take it in turns to go inside engagements and report on what goes on. They do so on the condition they agree to distribute the material to other outlets within the royal rota system. Additionally, there is usually a spot provided for U.K. wire service the Press Association. A position for wider media outside events is also usually set up, where several photographers are able to capture arrival and departure images.”
“The core publications in the royal rota are: The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, The Times, and The Sun.
Victoria Murphy mentions in the article, that there is also usually a spot for the UK wire service, the Press Association.”
What Is The Media’s ‘Invisible Contract’ With British Royalty?
In an article, written by Alex Taylor (a BBC Entertainments Reporter) on 11th March 2021, he wrote:-
“For decades, the motto “never complain, never explain” underpinned British royal life – including its dealings with the press.
But the revelations from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey have called into question the state of the British monarchy’s relationship with the media.
Prince Harry spoke of an “invisible contract” between the Royal Family and reporters – a world in which orchestrated public exposure is offered, and a level of scrutiny traditionally accepted, in return for privacy behind palace gates.”
Prince Harry has said press intrusion, as experienced by his late mother Princess Diana, played a big part in his decision to step back from royal life
The title of this podcast, as mentioned earlier, refers to a Symbiotic Relationship, and I have likened this strange unwritten arrangement, no written rules of engagement as such, and in fact until Harry mentioned it in the Oprah interview, no one had really spoken openly about it. I do recall a few years ago, one of the clique of Royal Rota reporters returned from annual leave, to discover an entry in the Royal Family circular of public engagements, that apparently had never appeared there before. He commented that the ‘meetings’ did take place between some Rota personnel and senior Royals, but that was never ever quoted in any public document. He was apparently surprised to see it. He was clearly spoken to, as he never mentioned it again, but when Prince Harry mentioned it in 2021, he was treated like the devil incarnate. There has been more than one occasion when the said Royal Reporter commented openly on something said or done by a Senior Royal, only to suddenly have a memory lapse, a few hours later, and declare that he had made mistake. I don’t recall him referring to a memory lapse or mistake, but he certainly went quiet on the topic and I did not hear about it again until Prince Harry mentioned it. The key words to remember here are “orchestrated public exposure is offered” – really meaning ‘positive orchestrated public exposure” – note this exposure is “offered” and implies it is not guaranteed. It clearly is a quid pro quo arrangement. Each gives the other something they need, and they are even. If it does not occur then the risk is that the same media team solely reporting on the BRF can and may well run the odd not so positive story or stories, if the BRF ever fall down on their side of the arrangement.
People with observation skills and common sense, always knew that there was some kind of ‘arrangement going on, but it was only when this Royal Reporter returned from Leave and saw one date in the circular that would not normally be made public, his shock led to him talking about on social media platforms. These discussions often took place over a lunch and drinks, and all manner of conversations, which officially never took place.
One such event took place recently, where a number of ‘celebs’ and reporters and a senior Royal met over lunch – as one does. All came away with goody bags of top quality food items. The optics of that in a country where the use of Food Banks has increased, and in recent months some people have to choose between turning on the heat, or buying food to cook and feed their family. Within days and weeks of that simple lunchtime get together, the number of the celebs who attended felt so overcome with the need to share how terrible certain tv networks were to portray certain members of the BRF in a certain way, and how ‘simply marvellous dear’ a particular Senior Royal is etc etc etc. We are supposed to believe that it was mere coincidence, and anyway it was the opinions of the celebs, not the Royal who was hosting. Some of honour badges already, and there is o doubt whatsoever, that all those who spoke out will either get a higher award, or receive one for the first time. Services and all that.
The Sussexes were vilified, but like every single thing that was said in the Oprah Interview (most by Harry, but as per usual tabloids blamed every statement as a lie, that was spoken by Meghan only). Meghan was chosen to be the sacrificial lamb, because the RRs did not want to overdo the criticism of a member of the BRF, not least because they needed him to come back, without his wife and children. The Caucasity of it all. The RR who publicly stated that those engagements never appear in the public domain, never received, publicly anyway, any criticism for his faux pas.
I would describe this dangerous and perilous arrangement between two groups of people to be thwart with risk from the start. I consider this arrangement to be a symbiotic one. So what is a symbiotic partnership? Let us explore.
What is a Symbiotic Relationship?
The Professional Leadership Institute describe it as follows:-
In everyday speech, symbiosis means both parties involved in a relationship are benefiting from each other. Also, symbiosis is a term biologists use to describe how living organisms interact with one another in a variety of ways to share food and other resources.
Life on earth is designed in such a way that species must find a way to share the resources they require to live and thrive.
Symbiosis where a reinforcing relationship in which one individual is over dependent on another to satisfy needs.
Symbiosis is the art of living together. Symbiosis is a term describing any relationship or interaction between two dissimilar organisms. The specific kind of symbiosis depends on whether either or both organisms benefit from the relationship.
- Individuals, groups, or various species of animals that are dependent on one another are in a symbiotic relationship.
- Examples of symbiotic relationships can be found in businesses, human relationships and amongst living organisms. Businesses depend on one another for survival, two individuals in a relationship need each other for different forms of support. And living organisms thrive better when interconnected than when alone.
Businesses
- The business environment is an ecosystem of interdependence. No business can exist in a vacuum. They will have to interact with one another to continue as a going concern.
Human Relationships
- A clinical social worker defined a symbiotic relationship between humans as one in which the parties involved depend on each other for survival and emotional support
Living Organisms
- The relationship between honey bees and flowers is a typical example of a symbiotic relationship. The flowers must be pollinated, and the bees must also get their food from the flowers. If either of them is unable to do so, they will die. The flowers and the bees have properties that help them interact with one another for survival.
What Are the Five Symbiotic Relationships? You decide which one fits Royal Rota or the British Royal Family
Mutualism
This type of symbiotic relationship is one in which two species benefit from each other’s association. Examples include bees and flowers; sea anemones and clownfish.
Commensalism
This is a one-sided symbiotic relationship. One species lives with, on, or in another species, known as the host, but the interaction neither benefits the host species nor harms it. For example, mites attach themselves to larger flying insects in order to get a free ride. Another example is hermit crabs, which make their homes out of the shells of deceased snails.
Parasitism
Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship in which one species (the parasite) gains at the expense of the other (the host). Roundworms found in humans, dogs, and cats are examples of parasitic species.
Predation
Predation is a symbiotic relationship in which one species depends on the other for survival. The predator is the one who hunts and consumes the other species, while the prey is the one who gets devoured. An example is the killer whale, also called Orca. It’s found in every ocean on earth and hunts and devours more than 140 organisms, according to National Geographic Society.
Competition
A competition symbiotic relationship is one in which species compete for the same resources. A competition relationship can be intra-specific (between organisms of the same type) or inter-specific (between organisms of different types).
Examples of species in competitive symbiotic relationships include male birds fighting for a mate. And trees in dense plant populations competing for sunlight.
Is a symbiotic relationship the same as mutualism?
A symbiotic relationship is one in which one or both individuals or species are dependent on each other for survival. Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from each other.
Racism, Monarchy and Privilege
It’s not the first time that a royal has been turned into a soap opera. What makes the duchess different, though, is that she’s black. Much of the discussion of her blackness has been of the ‘nudge nudge, wink wink’ type, from the Daily Mail’s ‘Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton‘ story to Rachel Johnson’s description of the duchess’s ‘exotic DNA’. And then there have been the straightforward racist trolls on Facebook and Twitter, 4chan and Gab.
The real impact of Meghan Markle has been less on reactionaries and racists than on liberals and progressives, many of whom have seemingly forgotten (or, at least, conveniently set aside their understanding) that there is nothing progressive about a monarchical system, whoever may be part of it. From the moment it was announced that Harry and Meghan were to wed, there has been a stream of claims that a black royal will transform race relations in Britain and that the couple’s social liberalism will turn the royals into ‘potential allies’ in progressive struggles.
There is a certain irony in so many being so alive to every nuance of white privilege but seemingly so blind to the privilege that flaunts itself through the hereditary monarchy. Making inherited privilege more ‘diverse’ is hardly a step forward in the battle against racial inequality (or, indeed, against climate change). The reference source for the above and much more is listed at the end of the article.
Why the British Press is the worst in the World
This is a short extract from an article written by Jim Waterson, Media Editor for the Guardian in April 2018. From the data I have seen, it has not changed for the better. I will try to find a more up date set figures and see if the UK Press have improved or not. It is clear to most people that self regulation in the media industry is not working. The fact that the content continues to be so toxic, and that lives have been lost or ruined as a direct result of press conduct, I believe that the type of regulatory body and the systems and processes of that regulatory framework needs to be tougher than it is now. Correct regulation and measurement and sanctions where needed., will probably move the UK further down the list, rather than improve it. The idea that it feels hard done to now, with the kind and depth of toxic rhetoric and hate inciting content, explains why the existing regulator and the newspaper barons want the existing system to stay. Hate and division sells, and that is the bottom line for them. The extract from the article is as follows:-
“The UK has one of the worst environments for press freedom in western Europe, according to a global ranking that places Britain below the likes of Uruguay, Samoa, and Chile for restrictions on reporters as they seek to hold power to account.
Reporters Without Borders, which campaigns for journalistic freedoms, said the UK ranked 40th out of 180 countries on its annual World Press Freedom Index, leaving it ranked between Trinidad & Tobago and Burkina Faso.”
Why the British Press is Threatened by Meghan
Taking a quote from one of the reference sources below (Harpers Bazarre) is this one.
“What is so seemingly offensive to the British press and at least some of the British public is Meghan’s independence and desire to control her destiny in the public eye” Harpers suggested it was because she was used to having control because she was a celebrity. I would argue that was not the reason at all. It is because Meghan knows her worth and values herself, and has the intelligence to know when people are trying to use her for their own motives – whether that be in the world of television or film, or within the BRF and its arrangement with the Royal Rota. Meghan clearly recognised the game that was being played for everyone’s benefit but hers, and worse than that, they was no concern to the damage to her mental health, whilst they fed from her in a weakening state.
The HB headlines said it all. I recommend that you take the time to read the article, listed below.
The headline was as follows:-
Nothing Is More Threatening to the British Press Than a Black Woman in Control of Her Story
The obsession with Meghan Markle is a reminder that media outlets anywhere save their most antagonistic portrayals for women everywhere, often punishing those who attempt to own their narratives.
Was It Worth It?
Interest in the British Royal Family has reduced considerably over the last 40 years. Support for the BRF has equally dropped over that period. 70% of the support for the BRF is from people 65 and above. People who are interested in the BRF who are aged 25 and under is in single figures. Supporters of the same age group of the next in Line to be King, is very small indeed. Ie 40-65 age group has a smaller percentage of people interested In the BRF than it has who have said there is no need for a Monarchy.
With that in mind, not only is there going to be a regular reduction in supporters over 65 years of age, due to natural processes, there are insufficient supporters below that age group to make having a Monarchy viable or necessary. All that is happening now is putting off what is inevitable.
The biggest and most valuable asset the Royal Family had which would have secured its future for many decades was Harry and Meghan, but fragile egos and racism and classism took over, and now the UK is left with the remnants of a Monarchy which is past its use by date, and is completely out of touch with the requirements of a modern Monarchy, if there had to be one for a few more years. The global audience attracted since 2016 has all but disappeared, because of the treatment of Meghan in particular, and the Commonwealth have woken up as to the true opinions of the BRF about people of colour. Photo opportunities with black people now is too little too late, and is the most insincere insipid forced PR by an organisation and its staff who should know better.
The BRF and the right wing tabloids cannot erase the abuse over the years. The tabloids have form and people have died, or come close to dying and many are still living with the mental health issues created by being on the receiving end of tabloid abuse of power. Self regulation will never work whilst money can still be made. That requires legal intervention and in the case of Meghan and Harry and their children, international law will done day look at treatment of a USA citizen on UK soil for 3 years, and the continued abusive actions on USA soil since.
The invisible contract is no longer invisible, but it appears worthless from an outsider looking in. Unless the Royal Rota are prepared to run articles for months on end, like they continue to do with Meghan and Harry, they won’t earn anywhere near what they have been raking in since 2016, because the level of interest in the 7 supposed saviours of the BRF is on life support status, and as for the rest of the tax payer welfare recipients, all of them combined with the 7 Saviours would not even put food on the table for all the Rota. They are dull. There are however, a few serious activities that are far from savoury and could fill your papers for a couple of years or so, that you all choose to ignore because of the invisible contract, but I would suggest, that after chasing the jewels in your media crown out of the country and causing the near death of Meghan and her unborn child, and the death of another unborn child due to UK media cruelty, I feel very strongly that some individuals should be held to account for their part in that disgusting and evil behaviour. Hiding behind a press badge is not protection, and stating that you were doing your jobs, is also not an acceptable argument. You all have personal responsibility, and all of you earned money from tv interviews and books and articles. You should be personally liable, not your employer. The employers can and hopefully be taken to task in other ways. There are and have been members of the BRF who have been involved in or suggested that they could have been involved in heinous activities, but because of your invisible contract, you all asked for other stories on members of the BRF by way of payment for not writing about the others. Well, that invisible contract is worthless, if the others do not earn you money. That is your justification for playing the Hunter and Prey game with The Sussexes, and ignoring the rest of the BRF.
The end is inevitable for the Monarchy, and there is no need right now, to have the number of people that on paper exist in the Royal Rota. There is definitely no need for the avaricious clique mob, who have fed from the gravy trough for too long, and who believe that they are celebrities in their own right. Why does it need so many of you to write about 7 people who the public are no interested in or do not like. Only your propaganda pieces give the impression that swathes of people follow them and stand out in the rain for their appearances, when in reality that is far from the truth. The multitudes of new supporters the Uk Monarchy attracted by having Harry and Meghan as part of that family, have all, and I mean all, left with them. We have returned to having zero interest in what the BRF does from day to day, but it is comical to hear about the regular PR fails. The global audience grew when Meghan and Harry became an item, and now all those newcomers, together with the global supporter that Harry and Meghan each had when they were single, have now joined forces, and followed them to their new home. We as supporters will be there for a lifetime. We will always support their causes, and we support local charities in our respective countries that follow the themes of the ones that Archewell Foundation supports. Royal supporters have more hate and interest in hating and following The Sussexes, than offer real support to the family that they claim to support. The BRF needs to garner their interest in some way, otherwise the BRF and the RR will end a lot earlier than any of you have considered.
Meanwhile, regardless of what UK media wants to say every day in their rags and on tv (though I hope there will be legal measures taken against that daily onslaught, as that in itself is abusive and wrong) , or what the RR do on behalf of the BRF, just know that the Sussexes are set for life already, and their children have a growing legacy already to inherit, and the global support base will be there for them and their family and their charities for life, together with any new ones that come on board.
I wont state which type of symbiotic relationship the BRF and its Royal Rota are in now, but I suspect it has changed from the intended one when this arrangement was set up. I would like all the readers and listeners to the podcast to make up their own minds by the information given here, and the reference sources below are a good starting point to explore the information. I am clear in my mind about the state of that visible contract, and the kind of future for both groups.
Hate ultimately will destroy its hosts. Love will always win.
Ivy
19th Feb 2023.
Reference Sources
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/symbiosis-art-living-together/
https://sciencing.com/symbiotic-relationship-8794702.html
https://professionalleadershipinstitute.com/resources/symbiotic-relationship/
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a35727663/meghan-markle-british-media-racism/
https://kenanmalik.com/2019/08/26/racism-monarchy-and-privilege/
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/apr/25/uk-among-the-worst-in-western-europe-for-press-freedom
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-56326807