The phrase “ready to go to war with the press” describes Prince William’s reported reaction to the 2012 publication of private holiday photographs of Catherine, then the Duchess of Cambridge, by French magazine Closer. It is Russell Myers’s characterization in his book, as quoted by Fox News—not a verified direct quote from William.
What happened in the 2012 photo case?
In 2012, during a South of France holiday before a Diamond Jubilee tour, photographs of Catherine sunbathing in private were published by Closer. Fox News’s 2026 account, drawing on royal editor Russell Myers’s book William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story, says the couple were staying at Château d’Autet in Provence and that a photographer used a long-range lens from about a mile away. Those details are relayed through Myers’s account, rather than independently established in the reporting.
The palace pursued privacy proceedings against Closer after the publication. Fox News also reports that Italian magazine Chi and the Irish edition of the Daily Star later published images. The chronology and private discussions are presented through Myers’s narrative and should be understood with that attribution. Fox News’s account and an IBTimes UK summary both describe the episode as a privacy dispute.
What does “ready to go to war with the press” mean?
Myers uses the phrase to characterize William’s reported response to the photographs. Fox News quotes him saying, “This time, he was ready to go to war with the press.” The wording is Myers’s interpretation, not a statement William is documented as having said.
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According to Myers’s account as reported by Fox News, William contacted his father, then-Prince Charles, and Queen Elizabeth II, and said he intended to issue a statement and sue. These are reports of private conversations, not independently verified quotations. Myers also describes William as having a different relationship with the press from his brother; that, too, is the author’s interpretation.
What was the reported outcome of the legal case?
Fox News, citing Vogue.com for the outcome, reports that a French judge ordered Closer to pay the couple €100,000 in damages in 2017 and fined two staff members a combined €90,000. The couple had reportedly sought about €1.5 million. These figures are reported accounts of the judgment and claim, not a direct review here of the court ruling.
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What is established—and what remains attributed?
The central event is clear: Closer published private holiday photographs in 2012, and the palace pursued a privacy case. The details that make the story dramatic—William’s reported calls to relatives, his precise reaction, and the photographer’s alleged distance—come through Myers’s account as relayed in news coverage. IBTimes UK specifically notes that such private details rest on Myers’s narrative and sources close to William, rather than independent verification in its article.
That distinction matters when reading the headline. It refers to a reported stance toward the press after a privacy violation, not a separate public confrontation with journalists, and the memorable phrase belongs to Myers’s framing of the episode.
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