Published 20:11 IST, January 9th 2020
Duke and Duchess of Sussex issue new rules on media coverage to avoid 'misreporting'
Duke and Duchess of Sussex have revealed an updated media relations policy after their announcement to step down as senior members of the royal family.
- World News
- 3 min read
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have revealed an updated media relations policy after their announcement to step down as senior members of the royal family. On January 8, the royal couple shared a post on their official Instagram handle detailing their decision to become financially independent from the royal family and to split their time between North America and the UK.
Provide access to credible media
Following the social media post, the official website of Sussex has updated the media relations policy. The new policy states that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wish to provide access to credible media outlets owing to the frequent misreporting occurring throughout the globe. The policy read, “The Duke and Duchess have chosen to revise their media policy to reflect both their forthcoming change as members of the Royal Family with financial independence and their wish to reshape and broaden their work.”
The statement further said that sometimes accurate stories written by credible royal correspondents are edited to present false information. They also added that they were willing to be held to account if appropriate. Adding to that, the update also revealed that the royal couple would no longer participate in the Royal Rota system which provided media outlets exclusive access to official royal engagements.
There have been many cases of misreporting of the royal couple previously. In October 2019, the royal couple announced that they were taking legal action against Mail of Sunday for allegedly unlawfully publishing a personal letter written by Meghan to Harry. A few days follwing the incident, Harry launched two different legal proceedings against The Sun and Daily Mirror for hacking their phones.
In a big announcement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on January 8 said that they will be stepping back as 'Senior members' of the Royal family. Once the Royal couple announced that they will work to become 'financially independent' in future, Buckingham Palace released a statement that read, "Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through".
Updated 20:11 IST, January 9th 2020