After losing to the Mail, Prince Harry seems doomed to a sad life in California. And he did it to himself Stephen Bates

He seems doomed to eke out a sad life in California, and we may not see either his wife Meghan or his children Archie and Lilibet here any time soon. Maybe the young ones will only see the family realm a decade or more hence if they come backpacking as students – but that might be good for them and the royal family. Perhaps Uncle William will put them up. Time heals.

  • Stephen Bates formerly wrote about the royal family for the Guardian.

  • Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

An incredible self-own

In 1936, John Scott, son of the late Guardian owner and legendary editor CP Scott, did something unheard of for a media heir: he gave up his stake for the greater good.

After inheriting the newspaper, Scott renounced all financial benefit – bar his salary – in the Guardian (worth £1m at the time and around £62m today) and passed ownership over to the newly formed Scott Trust. The Trust would evolve to have one key mission: to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity.

That means the Guardian can’t be bought. Not by private equity, not by a conglomerate, and definitely not by a billionaire looking for a political mouthpiece. So here are three good reasons to make the choice to support us today.

1. Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more.

2. We are independent and have no billionaire owner controlling what we do, so your money directly powers our reporting.

3. It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message.

But this unique model also means we depend on readers like you from Morocco to help fund our work. If you would rather the news you read was the result of decisions made by journalists and editors, not shareholders or ultra-wealthy tech bros, then, well, you know what to do:

Support the Guardian on a monthly basis.

« Previous Next »

Leave a Comment