News and commentary about the reigning royal houses of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, Monaco -- and the former European monarchies as well.
Prince Philip is a public figure - and the public does have a right to know about his health ...certainly from an American point of view, as we view privacy issues different. Walk out your door and onto the sidewalk - you are no longer "private" -- you are out in public.
you are absoultely right about the Duke being a public figure and that he has to "endure" a different level of privycy protection than the ordinary citizen. However, I believe that health issues are indeed one of the most private and sensitive personal data. Leaking them to the press and the press publishing them is in my view unacceptable. He did not bring them into the public arena. It is different if one walks into the street and a photograph is taken.Even here are certain limits (as the Princess Caroline of Monaca court cases show). But one has to damit - I have dealt with this question professionally - that the borderline between privat and public, between information right and press freedom of the press and the protection of the individual has a lot of grey areas and is very often difficult to define.And of course there are different lines drawn differently in different countries.
My view is that the Evening Standard was wrong to go with the story. If the Prince is suffering from cancer, he should go public with it for several reasons. One is to end any speculation. Another is that he is in the public eye and by going public, he can help others who might be in a similar situation. Here in the US, Betty Ford and Happy Rockefeller, then the First and Second Ladies, both suffered from breast cancer. By going public and talking about it, they brought the disease to the front pages - and millions of American women got mammograms ... by admitting their own illnesses, the two women may have helped saved the lives of many other women. Privacy laws in the US differ from Europe ... once you are outside your house, you are in public ... so if you are eating in an outside cafe, there is nothing preventing me from taking your photo
The Palace has denied it in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteThe Palace is right to regard this as a serious breach of the privacy and will take it to the Press Complaint Commission.
but the court denied this report.
ReplyDeletethanks ..the palace issued the statement after I left for the office ! I have updated my blog ...
ReplyDeleteCabri,
ReplyDeletePrince Philip is a public figure - and the public does have a right to know about his health ...certainly from an American point of view, as we view privacy issues different. Walk out your door and onto the sidewalk - you are no longer "private" -- you are out in public.
errata : I wanted to write "the Palace" instead of "the Court" ! The court is not a proper word in the context,I'm afraid !
ReplyDeleteMarlene
ReplyDeleteyou are absoultely right about the Duke being a public figure and that he has to "endure" a different level of privycy protection than the ordinary citizen. However, I believe that health issues are indeed one of the most private and sensitive personal data. Leaking them to the press and the press publishing them is in my view unacceptable. He did not bring them into the public arena. It is different if one walks into the street and a photograph is taken.Even here are certain limits (as the Princess Caroline of Monaca court cases show). But one has to damit - I have dealt with this question professionally - that the borderline between privat and public, between information right and press freedom of the press and the protection of the individual has a lot of grey areas and is very often difficult to define.And of course there are different lines drawn differently in different countries.
There is of course public interest in the matter.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the question is how far do you go in these matters?
Philip, if he does have the condition, presumably wants to keep the matter private, especially while he is still undertaking public duties.
And you would assume that if at any time his health does deteriorate to be of iminent concern, then the situation would be made public.
An interesting point though is that I believe only recently gave approval to certain relatives to pre-record eulogies for him.
My view is that the Evening Standard was wrong to go with the story. If the Prince is suffering from cancer, he should go public with it for several reasons. One is to end any speculation. Another is that he is in the public eye and by going public, he can help others who might be in a similar situation.
ReplyDeleteHere in the US, Betty Ford and Happy Rockefeller, then the First and Second Ladies, both suffered from breast cancer. By going public and talking about it, they brought the disease to the front pages - and millions of American women got mammograms ... by admitting their own illnesses, the two women may have helped saved the lives of many other women.
Privacy laws in the US differ from Europe ... once you are outside your house, you are in public ... so if you are eating in an outside cafe, there is nothing preventing me from taking your photo