Inside the royal family’s complicated relationship with the tabloids

• Prince Harry told Oprah that the royals wine and dine tabloid journalists for better coverage.
• The tabloids have exclusive access to the royals through the rota system. 
• The family has an “invisible contract” with journalists from these publications.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The royal family’s relationship with the British tabloids was something of a mystery to the general public until recently.

Prince Harry lifted the veil on the family’s “invisible contract” with the tabloids during his and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month. He also implied that the royals wouldn’t defend Markle from the press’ unfair treatment because they were “scared” of “the tabloids turning on them.”

“There’s what’s termed or referred to as the ‘invisible contract’ behind closed doors between the institution and the tabloids, the UK tabloids. To simplify it, it’s a case of if you as a family member are willing to wine, dine, and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press,” Harry said.

Here’s everything we know about the royals’ complicated relationship with the tabloids.

Tabloids have had exclusive access to the royals for more than 40 years

The royal rota is a system that was established more than 40 years ago in order to allow UK newspapers exclusive access to engagements carried out by the royal family.

The members of the rota include: The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, The Times, and The Sun. 

Journalists and photographers from these publications spend a lot of time with the royal family during both local engagements and international tours.

The royals also attend events hosted by some of these publications, and work in partnership with them for specific events.

For instance, Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton have previously shown support for The Sun newspaper’s Military Awards, an event sponsored and organized by the publication to honor the military community.

Another example includes Prince Charles’ partnership with The Sun at the Prince’s Trust and RBS Celebrate Success event back in 2006. Charles and Camilla joined royal photographer Arthur Edwards on stage to present the Young Achiever Award, sponsored by the newspaper.

Charles and Camilla publicly acknowledged their friendship with Edwards last year by writing a birthday tribute to him on social media — something the royals rarely do publicly unless for another member of the family.

—The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) August 12, 2020

Edwards did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Kate Middleton’s strategy to keep her children out of the tabloids was previously used by Princess Diana

The Duchess of Cambridge keeps the British tabloids at bay by providing official photos of her children on their birthdays each year. 

She uses her Instagram account, @kensingtonroyal, to share the photos — which she takes herself — and gives British newspapers permission to print them.

In return, Middleton and her children are rarely targeted by the paparazzi, and most photos of them in the press are from official engagements by photographers that have been pre-approved by the palace.

“In regards to the royal family, they will give a little bit, and the media will give a little bit, therefore they can come to a satisfactory outcome, certainly in regards to access,” former royal protection officer Simon Morgan previously told Insider.

“Obviously the Cambridges are very good at that, with regards to the duchess’ pictures that she puts into the press. So the press ultimately don’t follow them around looking for those types of pictures. It’s a two-way scenario.”

This strategy is likely what Princess Diana and Prince Charles had in mind when they invited the British press to photograph their children at milestone events, including their birthdays. The below photo shows Prince William at Kensington Palace on his second birthday.

There was an understanding that the tabloids would leave William and Harry alone while they attended private school in exchange for occasional staged photo-ops, BBC News reports.

One example of this included William’s 18th birthday at Eton College, the publication adds.

Harry and Markle cut all ties with the British tabloids after their step back

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer required to take part in the royal rota system now that they have stepped back from their senior working roles.

The couple announced in April 2020 that they had cut off all contact with The Sun, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, and the Daily Express, saying that they would no longer respond to media requests from these tabloids.

In a letter sent to each publication, the Sussexes said they no longer wanted to “offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”

The duchess struggled with racist coverage from the tabloids since her relationship with the Duke of Sussex was made public in 2016. Harry made a statement condemning this behavior at the time, calling out the “racial undertones” he identified in articles written about the then-actress.

Speaking to Oprah about the racist coverage, Harry said it “hurt” that nobody from his family stood up to the tabloids during the three years that Markle experienced it.

Harry also said that they had asked the palace to use its existing relationship with the tabloids to “share some truth” and “call the dogs off,” however they refused to do so.

Royal commentator Kristen Meinzer previously told Insider the press show double standards in their coverage of Markle, and that she wouldn’t “be facing any of these double standards if she were white.”

Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.