Sarkozy mania hits the Sun

As Sarkozy mania continues to dominate the media,hats off to this morning's Sun which managed to get two stories into one on its front page.

Under the headline,French are top Gaul scorers,the paper reports that

FRANCE scored twice last night as its football team beat England 1-0 and President Nicolas Sarkozy cuddled up with wife Carla in a Windsor Castle bed.

and further more the paper has an insider in the palace

But Mr Sarkozy and sexy former supermodel Carla had a far more enjoyable time as they side-stepped royal protocol.
The couple — wed less than two months — were given a traditional TWO-bedroom apartment with a door in between for their castle sleepover. But according to a royal source, Mr Sarkozy swiftly abandoned HIS designated room to join gorgeous Carla in HER four-poster bed.

On the Harry Embargo

Good media practice or simply coniving with the authorities.

The British media's decision to place an embargo onthe news that Prince Harry was fighting in Afghanistan will be debated for some time no doubt.

The one school of thought is that her is an ordinary soldier,unfortunately from a quite extraordinary background who simply wants to do a job that he has been trianed for.The experience of Iraq showed quite simply that with media coverage that wasnt going to happen.

At the other extreme the Respect MP George Galloway accuses the BBC of colluding with the government over its imperialist quest and no doubt believes that the other media outlets are also part of thius big conspiracy.

If nothing else this experience show that in this 24 hour global village that we live in,it is almost impossible to maintain a news blackout.The fact that it lasted 10 weeks is remarkable in itself.

The fact that is was broken by Matt Drudge in the States shows the problems that the established media have in supporting any sort of control.

John Williams writes on the BBC editors site that

At its simplest, journalism is about telling people things they don't know. So when the Ministry of Defence approached the BBC - along with other parts of the UK media - to ask us not to tell our audiences about a possible deployment of Prince Harry to Afghanistan, it was something we thought long and hard about.

Adding that

So, for the past ten weeks, the BBC, ITV and Sky News have been filming with Prince Harry - the first time we've been up close and personal with him. We interviewed him at Clarence House in mid-December, just before he was sent to Afghanistan, we spent some time with him at the start of January when he was settling in at a remote base in Southern Helmand Province, and most recently, we filmed with him last week at a new location in Helmand Province.

We don't do this stuff lightly - there are no other "voluntary agreements" in place at the moment, there's nothing else we're not telling you. Until yesterday, only a handful of people in the BBC knew about the story - trust me, keeping secrets from other journalists is hard work!

Interestly though Adrian Monck tells us that back on 7th Jan,an Australian magazine reported

Prince Harry has joined his regiment on a covert mission to Afghanistan and his unit has already seen front line action.
Not seen in public since the middle of December, New Idea can exclusively reveal that despite opposition from senior members of the British government and the royal family itself, Harry now joins his uncle Prince Andrew as a royal who has been to war.

So how secret was this?

'fake sheikh' strikes again and Express reveals plot ot kill the Queen

Two good stories in the Sunday's to get tongues wagging

This mornings News of the World carries an exclusve by Mazher Mahmood that the father of Liverpool footballer,

is the evil muscle-bound boss of a seedy crack den.The man credited with guiding the £6.7million Liverpool star to success runs the secret drugs empire at his sleazy council flat.
We filmed Gary Pennant there selling cheap rocks of killer cocaine and deadly heroin as a constant stream of addicts and prostitutes shambled in.

The Express meanwhile claims

AL Qaeda terrorists posing as TV crews planned to blow up the Queen by smuggling explosives into last year’s Commonwealth summit.
Two huge outside broadcast vans belonging to the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation were seized after a tip-off from intelligence agents.
As a result, UBC was unable to transmit live pictures of key summit events, including the Queen’s historic address to the Ugandan parliament on November 22.

I like this

Excellent editorial from the Mirror this morning

Prince Harry was quizzed by cops over the shooting of two hen harriers.
But which is the real endangered species? The partying Prince or the birds of prey?

A return to the good old days.

This morning's Sunday papers give that sense of the old Sunday morning filled with plenty of Royal Scandal.

Leading the way is the Sunday Times with its exclusive on

Royal targeted in sex and drugs blackmail plot

A MEMBER of the royal family has been targeted in an alleged “sex and drugs” blackmail plot being investigated by Scotland Yard.
The royal - who cannot be named for legal reasons - called in the police after being approached by two alleged blackmailers in August.
The men demanded £50,000 not to publicise a video, which they suggested showed the royal engaged in a sex act. The case is understood to be the first time in more than 100 years that a member of the royal family has been the victim of blackmail

Then the papers are full of Prince Philip with a heart condition shooting pheasants.

HEART-SCARE PHILIP BACK..KILLING BIRDS says the Mirror

Andrew Tyler, of the charity Animal Aid said: "Exercise in the countryside is excellent for someone of advanced years - but it can be enjoyed without causing suffering and death to birds."

Prince Harry slugging back more drinks in the News of the World

Harry's £1,567 bar bill

And

Earlier the prince had nearly got into a right royal rumpus when he threatened to kill a fellow clubber.
Passions boiled over when the man made a remark about 22-year-old Chelsy. Harry, 23, an officer in the Blues and Royals, yelled: "I'll kill him, I'll kill him, where is he?"
An onlooker recalled: "Harry was really smashed. When he came back from the toilet he was fuming.

Whilst the Mail has

Glum night out: Not even vodka til 3.30am can cheer up miserable, homesick Chelsy

She's earned a reputation as someone always happy to drink and dance the night away, throwing herself into the party spirit, often in the company of her Royal boyfriend.
But on her latest evening out with Prince Harry, it seemed that nothing could lift Chelsy Davy's spirits.

and doubling the News of the World's bar bill

The couple and friends partied at a trendy club in West London on Friday, running up a £3,500 bar bill.

And no mention of the Diana inquest??????????????????

Queen Camilla or not?

Meanwhile the real Express turns to a royal theme this morning

"PRINCE Charles was buoyed by an opinion poll yesterday showing a four-fold increase in support for Camilla becoming Queen.
On the day his wife celebrated her 60th birthday, he and Camilla received an unexpected gift with the first serious indication that the public is warming to her.Millions who blame the couple’s adultery for the break-up of Charles’s first marriage to Diana and the subsequent tragedy that befell the late Princess still vow they will never support them.But the first clear signals that attitudes are softening among a section of society emerged in the poll, which found 28 per cent would support Camilla taking the title of Queen if and when Charles is crowned King."

The paper compares this to a similar poll it did in 2005 where only 7% supported the idea

However perhaps the paper should have checked with the Sun which claims

Camilla 'I won't be your queen'

THE Duchess of Cornwall has said that she does not want
the title Queen.
Camilla told friends she wants to be known as the princess
consort when Prince Charles becomes king.
She let it be known she would be
happy if she never became queen and wants only a supporting role in Charles’s
official duties.

Another royal cock up

Many pages in the papers are devoted to the latest gaffe by the BBC following the previews of its autumn schedules.

The papers yesterday were full of stories of the Queen storming out of a photo shoot.What they didnt realise was that the Beeb had only given them edited highlights in order to gain some publicity for its schedules.

The corporation was then humiliatingly forced to offer apologies to the palace for the gaffe.It didnt take long for those same papers who were quite willing to report the story yesterday to turn on the corporation.

Beeb bashing Mail at the forefront

BBC's grovelling apology to Queen over 'tantrum' film and the Times

Crisis of trust after BBC says sorry again

"The position of Peter Fincham, the BBC One Controller, was under threat. He admitted that he had released the footage to the media in order to promote a documentary about the Queen, but said that he had no prior knowlege of the manipulation. Mr Fincham told the media that viewers would see the Queen “walking out in a huff”.
But last night, the corporation said that the raw footage, repeated yesterday on BBC news bulletins, should never have been screened in the first place. "

Its leading article

Television Treason
Does the BBC know whether it is coming or going?

Clever editing made it look as though Her Majesty had lost her cool, and committed the modern treason of walking out in the middle of a photo shoot. In fact, she made the remark while walking to the photo shoot with her attendant flunkey. Some creative artist sexed up the trailer by cutting the tape to make it look as though the Queen was storming out in a strop. Yesterday the BBC apologised for distorting reality.

But coming days after the Blue Peter fine,it is another problem that the BBC could have done without.The BBC Trust will no doubt be asking for an explaination and the finger pointing will start

SO WHY DID THEY BREAK UP

It was always going to be the top story for the Sunday's but I was suprised by the different angles managed to take at least in their headlines.

The Sunday Mirror broke away from the main theme prefering to describe what William was doing the night before the news broke.WILLS' £11K BOOZE BINGE

relating how the Prince was downing copious amounts of Dom Perignon with his pals and dancing to the Rolling Stones.

Its former Royal correspondent James Whitacker went further when he seemed to suggest that we all had a close escape as the Middleton family were not posh enough for the family describing how Mrs Middleton greeted the Queen with "Nice to meet you and used the word "toilet "instead of "Lavatory"

Whilst it also tarcks down the beauty who was caught dancing with the Prince for her comments on the split:

"When I heard the news I couldn't believe it," said Lisa Agar, 19. "I am absolutely shocked they have broken up. They always seemed so good together and I always thought they would get married."
Last month she told the Sunday Mirror how she had "dirty-danced" with the Prince on a podium during a night out at Elements nightclub in Bournemouth"

The News of the World whose sister paper broke the story harks back to Diana and claims that the Queen intervened to halt the relationship

PRINCE William's five-year romance with Kate Middleton was dramatically killed off at a secret royal summit when the Queen said: "Don't rush down the aisle—we don't want another Diana."

The final death blow to Wills' relationship with his university sweetheart was delivered by grandfather Prince Philip.
He declared: "You can't string her along for ever."

The Telegraph goes down a simliar route but this time it is Charles who is to blame.

"Prince Charles is understood to have been concerned that it was unfair on Miss Middleton - who has been constantly hounded by the paparazzi at her central London home - for his elder son to prolong the relationship indefinitely without marrying her. Unlike Prince William, she does not live in heavily guarded private palaces or have a personal bodyguard. "William was recently advised by his father to think about making up his mind one way or the other," said one source.
"Prince Charles has suggested to him that it would not be fair to keep Kate hanging on if he was not prepared to marry her sooner rather than later."

For the Express it is a disaster,its headline says that the "Princes are in crisis"

It is not William but Harry as well for according to the paper

"Hopes that the futures of the two dashing young princes had been mapped out lay in tatters after a double setback for the Royal Family.Her Majesty's wishes of seeing William find love and secure the Royal lineage with popular Kate Middleton evaporated as the couple announced they had split.And plans for Harry to serve with his regiment in Iraq hung in the balance amid renewed fears for his safety.Senior military officals are concerned that Harry's presence in war-ravaged Basra will also put the lives of other servicemen at risk as milita have made him their number one target."

The Mail puts it all down to two people falling out of love as they grow up,not an unusual occurence

"Prince William decided to break up with Kate Middleton because he felt the 'fun' had disappeared from their relationship, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The 24-year-old Prince told the girl many thought would be his queen that it was all over in a "face-to-face" meeting last weekend.
"He sat her down and told her, he didn't gild the lily," said a source. "

But also blame the future mother in law,"'Pushy' mother Carole is left devastated"

"Whether or not Carole was aware of the whispers among senior courtiers at Buckingham Palace that she was really "not the thing", her project was doomed from the start.
And this weekend her fervent hope that Kate would marry Prince William ended in bitter disappointment.
The woman who friends admit could have a "masters in social engineering" found herself and her daughter brought up short.
Of course Carole is devastated for her daughter's upset, as any mother might be. But her angst runs deeper.
According to one close source: "Carole is seething at her daughter being humiliated. All her plans have gone up in smoke and she really wasn't expecting it. She has invested years in this.

The Observer looks towards the prospects for the Middleton's reporting that the family home was under siege by 10.00 am

The family fear a media onslaught because a fierce bidding war is already under way to secure an exclusive interview with Middleton and those close to her. Max Clifford, the public relations consultant, said that if Middleton were to sell her story to a newspaper it would be the 'biggest kiss'n'tell ever'.
He added: 'I'm sure she wouldn't even dream of doing it. But she's in that position of being the hottest kiss'n'tell property in history. I've already had contacts from various national newspapers saying, "If she comes to you, tell us".'

Whether the media pressure was too much for the couple or whether simply they grew out of love,will no doubt become more apparent as the days go buy and I am almost certain that "friends" of the couple will give a verison of events to the press.

Whether the royal family has learnt from the mistakes of the Diana era,we will also have to wait to see.If the reports are true about the royal summit then possibly they have.

The one thing that this does show is that a royal story will sell papers and that any future Queen of England will come under the gaze of the Press

The Sun's Royal Exclusive

OR 24 YEAR OLD SPLITS WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND

The Sun must be pretty chuffed with itself after its second edition broke the story that Prince William and Kate Middleton have split.

I have just listened to Sun Photographer Arthur Edwards talking to John Humphries on the Today programme and sounding very pleased with himself.He claims to be a friend of the Prince and so called expert on royal relationships.He points out that William told hacks over a pint of beer that he had no plans to marry until he was 28.

He blames the high press profile of Miss Middleton as one of the reasons why the relationship may have ended something that she was not exposed to whilst they were at St Andrew's University.

No doubt Royal correspondents expecting a quiet weekend have now been called into newspaper offices and the Sunday's tomorrow will give us a selection of reasons how the Press has contributed to the breakup