Explanation of the Royal Rota, the system by which media positions at Royal events are allocated
The Royal Rota is a system of allocating media positions at Royal engagements to ensure that as many media organisations as possible have access to Royal material without overcrowding a particular venue.
Please note that Royal Rota material is provided on a reciprocal basis and must not be regarded as exclusive to the Rota pass holder.
The Royal Rota party is a group of up to 20 photographers, cameramen and reporters chosen by various press organisations and representing all the media. They make their material available to local and national end users, as well as overseas media when appropriate.
By means of the Rota, the press party is kept to an optimum size; this means that they do not get in the way of each other or of other guests, whilst ensuring that their material receives the widest possible distribution.
Royal Rota material is in no way controlled or censored by Buckingham Palace Press Office, which is responsible only for seeing that adequate media facilities are given to the press to report public engagements undertaken by the Royal Family.
The format and size of Royal Rotas are arranged in consultation with the host organisation, by Buckingham Palace or Clarence House Press Office.
In circumstances where space is small or when there are particular sensitivities, the Rota party may be reduced by prior agreement to, for example, a ‘solo rota’ of one still photographer and one TV camera.
Members of the Royal Rota listed below are responsible for the actual allocation of Royal Rota passes, which for security reasons must be visibly shown by pass holders at all times throughout the relevant event whether inside or outside a venue.
BBC, ITV and Sky fund a Royal pool cameraman to film The Queen and other members of the Royal Family during official engagements. Although it is not possible for him to cover all Royal visits, it is worth checking his availability prior to a visit if there are going to be problems allocating crews to cover all venues.
Membership of the Royal Rota
Membership of the Royal Rota is a matter for the media organisations below, in consultation with Buckingham Palace Press Office:
Newspaper Publishers Association Limited (NPA)
Wire Picture Agency (WPA)
Newspaper Society (NS)
Council of Photographic News Agencies Limited (CPNA)
Periodical Publishers Association (PPA)
Independent Photographers Association (IPA)
(together called “the Associations”)
Guide to good practice for holders of the Royal Rota passes
1. That no Rota should be established except where there are special security reasons or insufficient space is available for all media interests.
2. That newspapers, wire services, periodicals, independents and agencies will not be awarded Royal Rota passes unless they can fully meet the obligations of the Rota System by providing an immediate service by digital transmission.
The Administrator or Secretary of the Association concerned shall use his/her best endeavours to ensure that any member awarded a pass will be able to adhere to these guidelines.
3. That the copyright of all photographs taken on Rota occasions be vested in the newspaper, wire service, periodicals, agencies or independent to whom the pass has been issued subject to Rota conditions and, where necessary, the passholder should take the appropriate steps to ensure this provision.
4. That all Rota photographs must be available in the United Kingdom for a period of at least five years.
5. a) That newspapers, wire services, periodicals, agencies and independents holding Rota passes exchange material directly with each other free of charge.
b) That it is normal practice for a Rota pass-holder to provide other users with a reasonable selection of pictures of any event covered. Rota passes should only be allocated to photographers capable of producing photographs of a standard that is acceptable to other Rota members. All material is to be adequately captioned and to be available to members of the Rota Association to whom the Rota pass is issued. Other newspapers, wire services, periodicals, agencies and independents not holding a Rota pass may request, by arrangement, an opportunity to see unused material.
c) That all pictures taken on a Rota pass, whether issued or not, must be available for digital archiving, be classified as Rota pictures and marked as such in the appropriate library of the copyright holder for the required five year period.
6. That no Rota material may be sold exclusively, or labelled as such when reproduced.
7. Where the Newspaper Society has received direct from Buckingham Palace an allocation of up to three Rota passes for regional newspapers, local to the event, the remainder would normally be allocated as follows:
1 pass = NPA/WPA (in rotation) SOLO ROTA
2 passes = NPA and WPA
3 passes = NPA and WPA
= CPNA, PPA, IPA
50% CPNA
50% shared equally PPA and IPA
8. That United Kingdom and overseas publications outside the Rota arrangements are expected to pay normal reproduction fees.
9. That on occasions where periodicals, agencies and independents take up Rota passes normally allocated to newspapers and wire services (NPA/WPA Members) the agreed standard fee will be applicable, but not to regional newspapers if an allocation of passes for the event has not been provided to the Newspaper Society by the Palace.
10. That the Associations draw to the attention of Rota holders, that to uphold the good name of the profession, photographers nominated to represent them at state and royal events should be suitably dressed for the occasion, e.g. for formal Royal Rota occasions, lounge suit with shirt and tie for male photographers, discreet day attire for female photographers. Passes are to be worn where they can be easily seen.
11. That a committee representing the Association(s) of the Royal Rota will be responsible for taking any necessary action to deal with breaches of the good practice guide lines code of behaviour and dress by Rota pass holders, which are the subject of complaints from members of the Associations and from Buckingham Palace Press Office.