Information about rules for media covering UK engagements by members of the Royal Family
Photography, filming and reporting by the media are normally permitted at all official Royal engagements in the UK.
In arranging press facilities there are four sets of requirements to be borne in mind: those of the member of the Royal Family concerned, the hosts, the media and the general public.
The objectives are:
to forestall possible inconvenience to the member of the Royal Family by cameramen and reporters (e.g. obstructing their route during a visit, or attempting to cover private parts of an engagement such as a visit to a children’s ward);
to meet the wishes of the host organisation so far as press coverage is concerned;
to give the media the best possible opportunities for legitimate reporting of the event;
and to safeguard the interests of the general public, many of whom will have waited for hours, so that their view is impeded as little as possible by press activity.
On formal occasions such as church services or official meals, the press facilities will also be balanced with the need to maintain the dignity of the event.
Responsibilities
Press facilities at any Royal engagement are the responsibility of the Buckingham Palace Press Office for The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and immediate members of their family, and of the Clarence House Press Office for The Prince of Wales and his family.
Press facilities for Royal engagements by The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra, are primarily the responsibility of the Private Secretary in those Royal Households, consulting with Buckingham Palace Press Office as required.
For engagements outside London, and more particularly when the member of the Royal Family is undertaking more than one engagement in an area in the course of a visit, the Regional Press Secretary will advise on facilities and look after the press party during The Queen’s visits in England and Wales.
The Scottish Information Secretary will handle arrangements in Scotland.
Media facilities for Royal visits to Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Information Service.
Where appropriate, the Press Office may ask the public relations officer of the host organisation or, at MOD Service establishments, the appropriate Service PRO, to act on its behalf.
Press announcement
Announcement of a Royal event is made by the relevant Royal press office in the form of a short factual statement only. Thereafter the engagement is in the public domain, although the announcement does not necessarily appear in the newspapers on the same day as the release.
The organisers may wish to put out their own more detailed press statement to coincide with the operational note released nearer the time of the visit, or to answer any requests for more details of the programme (in the case of The Queen, such details will not be available before a reconnaissance visit has been made by Buckingham Palace).
Before doing so, the organisers should discuss their draft press releases and other media arrangements with the relevant Palace Press Office.
The ‘Royal Rota’ or pool system
With few exceptions, press coverage for Royal engagements is undertaken by a Royal Rota party. This is a group of up to 20 photographers, cameramen and reporters chosen by the various press organisations and representing all the media. They make their material available to all users, local, national and overseas.
By means of the Rota the press party is kept to an optimum size; this means that they do not get in each other’s way, but their material receives the widest possible distribution.
Their material is in no way controlled or censored by Buckingham Palace Press Office, which is responsible only for seeing that adequate facilities are given to the press to report public functions undertaken by the Royal Family.
The size and composition (i.e. newspaper/television/radio numbers for national and regional levels) of Royal Rotas is arranged in consultation with the host organisation, by Buckingham Palace or Clarence House Press Office.
In circumstances where space is an issue or where security or other host sensitivities apply, the Rota party may be reduced by prior agreement to, for example, a ‘solo rota’ of one still photographer and one TV camera.
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.
Writing and specialist press
There are some functions (such as receptions or seminars) where a number of writing specialist press, in addition to the Rota reporters, may be invited by the organisers to attend as long as there is room for them.
They should not attach themselves either to the Rota party or the official party. They should arrange to take photographic material from Rota sources.
Non-Rota photographers
Non-Rota photographers may sometimes wish to take photographs of the arrival at a station, airport, school or at other such points during an itinerary.
There is no objection to this, as there are fixed points at each venue (occasionally inside venues, as well as outside) where non-Rota photographers may operate.
Depending on the size of the fixed position, non-Rota photographers may have to book in advance or turn up on a first-come first-served basis.
Police role
Security planned before the Royal engagement and on the day of the visit itself is the responsibility of the Police.
They make recommendations concerning media arrangements if they consider security is affected. However, ultimate responsibility for media arrangements lies with Buckingham Palace or Clarence House Press Office and the host organisation.
It may be that on occasions the Police media liaison officer can help in a supportive capacity but primary responsibility for the engagement remains in the hands of the Palace.
The prime concern of the police officers accompanying the Royal Family on engagements is the security of that member of the Royal Family; the control of the press is the responsibility of the relevant Palace Press Office.
In the absence of a Palace Press Officer, the host organisation is responsible for organising the media whilst the actual engagement is in progress.
It is important that whoever is responsible for the Press arrangements of the visit on the organiser’s side identifies himself or herself to the Personal Protection Officer accompanying the Royal visitor straight away on arrival. Thereafter the two work closely together.
General do’s and don’ts
Members of the Royal Family are content with being photographed at most times during an engagement: those to avoid, however, are while they have food or a glass in their hand or during a meal, although it is quite in order for a photograph to be taken during a Loyal Toast, or immediately before food is served. Similarly, photographs may be taken when they rise to speak and for the first minute after they start talking.
Photography at receptions, whether indoors or outdoors, should be kept to a minimum. If important presentations are to be made where photographs are required, these are arranged either at the beginning or end of the reception, to minimise disruption to other guests.
Continuous photography, particularly at close range, should be avoided during events at which the Royal visitors are spectators. In such cases, it is best to try to concentrate the photography during arrival and departure, or during active Royal participation in the ceremony.
It is particularly unfortunate if photographers are allowed to insert themselves between the Royal visitors and whomever or whatever it is they are meeting or watching.
Media should also bear in mind that, when they are arriving at the last moment at a venue, they may be preventing spectators, many of whom will have waited for hours, from seeing the Royal visitors.
In such cases, they will be asked to take their photographs quickly or to adopt a minimum profile.
Photography and continuous filming of a Royal visitor is not permitted in Church during religious services, unless, in very exceptional circumstances, permission has been obtained beforehand.
Even when permission has been given, the coverage should not be continuous, nor should it cover the Royal visitor when they are at prayer.
Whilst photographs may be taken of a Royal visitor whilst the National Anthem is played, the media will not be moved to their next position until the Anthem has finished.
Speeches
Copies of a speech to be delivered are seldom available in advance except to the Press Association Court Correspondent. Embargoed copies of The Queen’s speeches during State Visits and official visits overseas are distributed on a ‘check against delivery’ basis.
It should be noted that some members of the Royal Family either do not speak from a prepared text, or extemporise from notes.
There is no objection to a speech being recorded, except that if the occasion is a private one it must be clearly understood that the tape is to be kept for private purposes only.
If the speech is to be recorded for television or radio, or broadcast live, the BBC or other authority concerned will first obtain the approval of the organisers and then seek the consent of the member of the Royal Family concerned through the Press Office at Buckingham Palace.
Whenever possible, one microphone only should be used and, where necessary, arrangements made to ‘feed’ other users.
Rules on use of microphones
Members of the Royal Family, like anyone else, dislike attempts to record private conversations and find that it is very inhibiting if attempts are made to record their casual talk.
No microphones therefore should be allowed in close proximity to them except when formal speeches are to be recorded. Directional microphones should not be used in such a way as to pick up conversations.
Exceptions are occasionally made to these rules, but always after discussion with Press Offices at Buckingham Palace or Clarence House.
Walkabouts
Media coverage of walkabouts needs careful handling if the Royal visitor’s path is not to be impeded or obscured from the public by a milling mass of photographers and security officials.
Where appropriate, there is a small moving pool of Rota photographers in the walkway who will move backwards in front of the Royal party.
To ensure visibility for the public and other guests, the pool should be kept at a distance of about 10 to 15 feet so far as possible, and never less than 10 feet.
Host media arrangements
Many organisations hosting a Royal visit wish to make a private record of the Royal event. The Press Office is happy for this to happen if an organisation so wishes, as long as it does not obstruct general media coverage. It should also be recognised that members of the Royal Family welcome the occasional break from cameras whether press or host.
Photographs and videos taken on behalf of host organisations are for private circulation, for use in house magazines and, in certain circumstances and by agreement with the Press Office, in trade and specialist papers, or on a venue’s web site.
Photographs may not be used in advertising or promotional material except in certain specific circumstances: advice may be sought from the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA.
The photographer should not be allowed to sell host material for general publication in the media, nor should it be sold on an ‘exclusive’ basis.
Decisions about host photography can only be made when arrangements for press facilities have been agreed by the Press Offices at Buckingham Palace or Clarence House.
It should usually be possible to accommodate the wishes of host organisations, but the need to ensure effective press coverage of public engagements is the first priority, and host coverage must be arranged around media requirements.
Host photographers
No more than one host photographer at any one time is allowed to operate with the Rota party. Where there is room for only a very limited number of photographers to work, priority must always be given to the Rota party.
The still photographer or video cameraman (occasionally) should be positioned alongside a Rota party. They should be a professional, not an amateur, and should operate under the supervision of the Regional Press Secretary or whoever is in charge of the Rota party.
In addition they should, if possible, be permitted to cover those items in the programme of particular importance to the local organisation (e.g. introductions). The rest of the rota party should not be excluded from such access if the item might be considered newsworthy.
There may be occasions when even one host cameraman may sensibly be accommodated only at a fixed point. It should always be borne in mind, however, that members of the Royal Family cannot necessarily distinguish between host and press (a camera is a camera) and that a break or breaks from photographic attention will be desirable in any programme.
At some engagements it may be decided to exclude press photographers altogether for reasons of security, commercial confidentiality or other reasons, but to allow a limited amount of host photography at previously agreed positions.
On such occasions, Buckingham Palace Press Office endeavours to make one or more of these host images available to the media.
Host videos
A host video camera in addition to a host photographer attached to the Rota party is usually acceptable. Otherwise, far more preferably, video cameras should operate from previously agreed fixed positions and should not move around with the Rota party, nor impede the operation of the Rota in any way, nor be given Rota passes.
Host video material may be ‘web cast’ (fed live or recorded on the Internet, through a venue’s web site) by prior agreement with Buckingham Palace Press Office.
Attire for journalists covering Royal engagements
Journalists wishing to cover Royal engagements, whether in the United Kingdom or abroad, should comply with the dress code on formal occasions out of respect for the guests of The Queen, or any other member of the Royal Family.
Smart attire for men includes the wearing of a jacket and tie, and for women a trouser or skirt suit. Those wearing jeans or trainers will not be admitted and casually dressed members of the media will be turned away. This also applies to technicians.