It’s neither extraordinary nor unprecedented.There is a long history of poor relations between the press and the royal family. Some sectors of the press clearly forget that the royals are people too, with rights to privacy, confidence and copyright.Given the circumstances surrounding Diana’s death, it is most particularly a sensitive issue for Charles, William and Harry, and who could really blame them? Protecting the privacy of their families through litigation is a far better solution than the circumstances Diana ended up in.
The thing that is most extraordinary in this instance is that the letter in question was allegedly partially redacted to suit the agenda of the journalist or publishers. If that is the case, then it is simultaneously potentially libellous, a breach of confidence and in breach of copyright, all of which the royal family has used before to file a case against members of the press.
As for precedent, there is an extensive history of members of the royal family having to sue the press for overstepping the boundaries, which I have detailed below. It is not exhaustive by any means, just a selection of examples where material was actually published and resulted in litigation from a senior member of the royal family.
1988. HM The Queen sued a newspaper for breach of copyright when a stolen photo of Sarah, Duchess of York and HRH Princess Beatrice of York was published.
1992. HM The Queen sued a newspaper for publishing the text of her annual Christmas message two days before it was broadcast (breach of copyright).
1993 . Diana, Princess of Wales sued another newspaper for publishing photographs taken with a hidden camera of her exercising in a gym. The gym owner was also sued for selling the photos.
2006. HRH The Prince of Wales sued a newspaper for publishing excerpts from his personal journals which were apparently leaked by his former secretary.
2012. TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge filed a criminal complaint and sued over topless photos of her that were taken without permission on private property and published in France.
2018. HRH The Duke of Sussex sued over aerial drones being used to take pictures directly into his living room and bedroom in Oxfordshire.
