How do you cover a family which, through its constitutional role, is at the top of a country, but which hates to varying degrees – and sometimes rightly so – the press? Valentine Low took on this challenge for fifteen years for the Times.
From 2008 to 2023, this British journalist was the royal correspondent for this center-right newspaper which is a reference across the Channel. He is not the only one to practice this specialty: in the United Kingdom, almost every media outlet, from the Sky News television channel to the tabloids The Sun Or Daily Express via the BBC, has a journalist dedicated to the news of the most famous royal family in the world. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the coronation of Charles III, 20 minutes asked Valentine Low to say more about this very special profession.
In 2008, the royal family was a bit boring
But first, why Times – like other media – does it dedicate resources to covering Windsor news? “People are interested in it,” replies Valentine Low simply. “When it comes to what members of the royal family do, it’s either not very important, it’s a bit trivial, a bit vague, and no one really cares about it, or it’s the most important thing happening at that moment, he elaborates. When Harry and Meghan left the royal family, it was in the news for five days in a row, it was extraordinary. »
When he arrives at Times in 2008, this experienced journalist was given the mission of covering the news of Queen Elisabeth and her children, but not only. His managers asked him to cover other themes because “at the time, the royal family was not that interesting”. After the turbulent 1990s and the tragic death of Diana, the monarchy seems to have turned in on itself. In 2008, Charles had been married to Camilla for three years, during a ceremony far from the usual splendor of the monarchy. Harry and William are drafted into the army. Queen Elizabeth is alive and we are still far from the agitation of “Megxit”.
“We were all going crazy”
It was in the 2010s that interest around the royal family resurged: William married Kate in 2011, followed by the birth of three heirs. Like the rest of the press, Valentine Low remembers having stood in front of the London hospital where Kate Middleton was to give birth to her first child. Journalists waited several days, waiting for the palace press release announcing George’s arrival. “We were standing in front of this hospital, the day was ending, and there was nothing to report,” he remembers. Because most of the time, Kate wasn’t even in the hospital. We were all going absolutely crazy. And we ended up interviewing each other! »
“We traveled all over the world”
The members of the royal family, Valentine Low also waited for them in the courtyard of the Elysée – when Charles and Camilla made a state visit to France in September – or on the other side of the world, as when he accompanied Harry and Meghan on an official trip to Australia and Fiji. “This job had a lot of advantages,” he smiles. We traveled a lot and all over the world. »
But these trips are not just fun: “We had to go to endless official meetings. The hardest part was following Charles, because he crams a lot of things into his day, he works very hard and doesn’t really take the time to eat lunch. » If these tours are an opportunity to get a few words directly from the royal family – as when he finds himself interviewing Prince Charles impromptu, in the rain, in the rainforest – they are also an opportunity to take the temperature between the Windsors and the press. And they are often like in Scotland: fresh.
Harry likes punchlines
In his book Brokers*, Valentine Low recounts how Harry, pushed by his advisors to come and say a few words to the press during one of these foreign tours, said to the journalists present: “Thank you for coming, even if you were not guests.” False, replies Valentine Low in these pages: the press was well invited, but Diana’s son hates the “royal rota” system, these accredited journalists including representatives of scandalous titles with which Harry maintains hostile relations.
In these conditions, how can we work and obtain information? It’s difficult to get some from interested parties themselves, who almost never give interviews. And the role of royal correspondent is not just about following the Windsors when they cut ribbons or publicly supporting one of the many associations they support. Yet this is what Charles, William and even Harry would want. “The members of the royal family, all of them, don’t want things to come out,” analyzes Valentine Low. What they want is for us to know what they are doing in public. They would be happier if all we reported was their trips for associations. »
” A treasure hunt “
Who to talk to then? Probably to these famous brokers (“courtiers”) the multiple assistants who surround each member of the family. Prince Harry himself denounces it in his autobiography: according to him, close advisors of Camilla or Queen Elizabeth II have given tips to certain media. “As a journalist, it’s very difficult,” explains Valentine Low. If you cover politics, you can talk to many people. The flow of information is enormous. Whereas in the royal family there are only a very small number of people to talk to who can tell you what’s going on. The challenge is always finding out what’s going on when people don’t want to tell you. We sometimes have the impression that it is a real treasure hunt. »
Valentine Low had to take on this treasure hunt when he revealed in 2021 that a member of Meghan Markle’s team had accused the duchess of harassment. His scoop went around the world. “One of the interesting aspects of this story is that the email [dans lequel étaient formulées ces accusations] had been written about two and a half years earlier. They managed to sweep this matter under the rug all this time. »
‘It took a long time for Kate to integrate into the royal family’
This culture of secrecy was perfectly adopted by Kate Middleton. Since joining the royal family in 2011, she has devoted herself to her role as wife and mother, without making controversial public remarks. “She is very careful, controls everything,” analyzes Valentine Low. It took him a long time to integrate into the royal family. What is very notable is that, [lors de déplacements officiels]William can recognize your presence [des journalistes], he can say hello to you. But Kate would never do that, she just talks to the people she came to see. It’s understandable. »
The announcement at the end of March of her cancer, which caused a shock in the United Kingdom and around the world after several weeks of speculation about her prolonged absence, “must have been difficult for her”, notes the journalist, especially that she had never spoken in public on such an intimate subject.
The difference with the way Charles’ cancer was announced is notable. “I think he’s older, more comfortable and felt like he could say what he said. He also has no young children to protect,” unlike Kate and William, notes Valentine Low.
What does he think of Charles’ first year as monarch? “If you put aside all the health issues, which are obviously a big blow, I think he’s done well. I’m perfectly comfortable being critical of him – I have been in the past – but I always thought he would do better than his detractors predicted, and I think I I’m right. I’m not saying he’s as popular as the Queen was – it’s hard to do that without taking time – but I don’t think he’s made any major mistakes. » An almost flawless performance that Valentine Low now follows from his home, where he is working on writing a new book. The subject ? The royal family, of course.
*Brokers, The Hidden Power behind the Crown (Courtisans, the hidden power behind the Crown) was published by Headline on July 6, 2023.