Why Prince William and Kate Middleton Didn’t Copy the Sussexes and Sue Tabloids Over Affair Rumors
Many royal fans are aware that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been receiving a lot of bad press this past year. However, instead of sitting back and accepting it, the couple decided to take legal actions against various news outlets.
Prince William and Kate Middleton have received a fair share of hurtful tabloid reports as well, as they weathered through an alleged royal affair. But it does not seem like the Cambridges will be following in the footsteps of the Sussexes.
This has led many fans to wonder: Why are Prince William and Middleton not suing news outlets, especially when Prince William was accused of having an affair? Here’s what we know about the situation.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began suing news outlets in October
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in the middle of their tour of southern Africa, Prince Harry released a statement that he and his wife were planning on suing a few news outlets. According to Prince Harry, the press has been making life hard for Markle ever since she joined the royal family.
“My wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences — a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” Prince Harry said. “Though we have continued to put on a brave face — as so many of you can relate to — I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.”
At the end of the statement, the royal family revealed that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were taking legal actions against news outlets “over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton went through a cheating scandal several months ago
While Markle was having trouble with the media, Prince William and Kate Middleton had their own thing to deal with as well. Earlier this year, reports began surfacing about an alleged affair that Prince William had with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley and one of Middleton’s close friends.
Prince William and Middleton became friends with Hanbury and her husband because the couple lived near each other. They would hang out often, though Middleton reportedly severed ties with Hanbury after she found out about the affair.
There have been numerous articles written about this scandal from all angles, but the royal family has never commented on it.
Why did Prince William and Kate Middleton not sue the tabloids?
The affair rumors seem like they could make Prince William and Duchess Kate’s lives harder as well as destroy their reputation, which is why some fans do not understand why the couple did not sue the tabloids over them. There is no clear cut answer to this, but there are some theories going around.
For one thing, royals often do not sue the press. Royals have been the subject of negative media reports for decades now, but rarely ever do they take legal actions against certain reports. Many royals realize that they need the press in order to remain relevant with the public, so taking in a few damaging rumors here and there is just a part of the bargain that they have come to accept.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shown that they do not always play by the royal rules, so perhaps they are more willing to take legal actions than Prince William and Duchess Kate. It could also be that since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in line to the throne, they don’t want to set a precedent of taking the press to court.
Some onlookers also believe that the Cambridges did not sue anyone because the affair could be true. A Quora user said: “It only resurfaces in online comments, in social media and forums on personal accounts and maybe in the US, but never in the UK. To me it’s a sign that the royal PR is making huge efforts to cover it, something they would not do if the accusation were ridiculous and unfounded.”
