The princess & the paedos
Royal family , Issue 1642

WHILE Prince Harry was preparing to announce a "monumental victory" over the press on the steps of the high court, his brother and sister-in-law launched their own rather lower-profile legal broadside against the media.

William and Kate’s lawyers Mishcon de Reya wrote to newspaper legal departments on 21 January pointing out several recent incidents when they felt the media had overstepped coverage of their public duties and "gratuitously intruded on the family’s private lives".

These included details of a recent skiing holiday first revealed in the Mail on Sunday on 19 January and quickly picked up by multiple other media outlets, several of which rather gave the game away by describing it in their headlines as a "secret holiday".

Growing problem
More disturbingly, the letter complains about the royal children being described as "all grown up" – a phrase that has featured in recent coverage in the Mail, Express, Hello! and OK!, as well as a number of American outlets.

The legal letter points out that this is "damaging to the children’s wellbeing, as it encourages discussion and focus on their development, appearance and potentially their bodies, which no child approaching the awkwardness of adolescence should be subjected to.

"They are particularly concerned by how the media presenting their 11, 9 and 6 year old children in a more adult-like manner than is appropriate may lead to fascination and even potential objectification online, which not only violates their dignity but also may lead to further security concerns."

More top stories in the latest issue:

ODD JOBSON
Robert Jobson, royal editor at the Standard, called Prince Harry’s legal win "a hollow victory" – but did not mention his own history at the Murdoch empire.

ROCK & A HARD PLACE
The Eye understands that a number of high-profile Observer columnists are considering taking voluntary redundancy ahead of the paper’s sale to Tortoise .

IMPERSONAL TOUCH
Staff at the Mail received a quickfire double whammy of impersonal emails from management delivering bad news about their job prospects.

SHATTERED MIRROR
After Mirror hacks sent a joint letter to their editor objecting to online click targets, the editor placed the union rep who delivered it on gardening leave.

FALLEN STAR
Daily Star editor Jon Clark’s imminent departure completes a full set of Reach plc’s national paper editors who have left the group in the past year.

PAPER DEADWEIGHTS
Hacks at the usually free market-loving Telegraph are begging the government to save it from financial purgatory as the title’s sale drags on.