The Royal Family probably receives unsolicited advice from journalists and ‘experts’ on a daily basis. Whether it’s about how they run the institution or handle their family arguments, writers, commentators and the general public offer their opinion.
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Paul Dacre is one of those journalists who recently decided to share their thoughts and provide advice to the monarch. In The Spectator Dacre wrote a piece called ‘My advice for King Charles, my ‘twin’' in which he tells the King and Prince William how to deal with Prince Harry as well as how to handle the press.
But who is Paul Dacre?
Paul Dacre uses Princess Diana against Prince Harry
In his feature for The Spectator, Paul Dacre begins with some strong words.
Truly, Harry, who is engaged in a preposterous legal contretemps with the Mail, is his mother’s son.
Adding,
his mother, I would argue, invented the art of victimhood.
Again, very strong words. Especially considering the fact that what Dacre is referring to has nothing to do with Princess Diana. As Dacre himself explains, the relationship between Princess Diana and the press was more ambiguous than the one Prince Harry has.
Of course, we understand why he is doing this; Prince Harry himself has repeatedly said that he is his mother’s son in order to justify his words on the Firm and the press.
That being said, bringing Princess Diana, whose tragic death has shaped the life of Prince Harry, has been seen as unfair. On X, a user wrote:
There's been a lot of threatening talk from the UK press directed at Prince Harry & always mentioning his mother, Princess Diana.
Then there was a plane hired to fly around Montecito with Diana's name.
And now we have this weird open letter sent to King Charles by Paul Dacre
While the hired plane is not something we have been able to verify, it doesn’t take away from the main point.
Should Princess Diana be constantly brought up when Prince Harry is doing something the press doesn’t like?
Who is Paul Dacre?
Paul Dacre is a very important name in the press. Indeed, he has spent his entire career in this industry. In July 1992 he became editor of Daily Mail. He left the position in 2018 and his tenure there was filled with controversies, as well as ups and downs. For instance, during the Brexit referendum the Mail was openly supporting the Leave campaign.
Later on, the Mail supported Theresa May as David Cameron’s successor. In 2021, he withdrew from his Ofcom campaign. Dacre ran to be the next chair of the media regulator.
On a personal note, Dacre has been married to Kathleen Dacre since they met in Leeds during their studies. The couple has two sons. It is reported that for many years Dacre was considered to be the highest paid man in the media industry. In 2015 Business Insider ranked him 7 in their list of the richest people in UK media. They report that, this year, he received £2.4 million in compensation. According to The Guardian, in his last year as editor of Daily Mail he was paid £2.7 million.
Read more:
⋙ Prince Harry and Meghan villainized once again by former royal staff in bombshell claim
⋙ While Piers Morgan denies phone hacking verdict a former colleague unveils new details
Sources:
The Spectator: My advice for King Charles, my ‘twin’
The Guardian: Paul Dacre pulls out of running to be next Ofcom chair
Business Insider: The 32 richest people in UK media 2015, ranked by income
The Guardian: Paul Dacre paid almost £2.7m in final year as Daily Mail editor
