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Sandy Henney, Former Press Secretary to King Charles, Dies

Tributes highlight how the 2000 photo dispute exposed fraught rules over royal image rights.

Overview

  • Sandy Henney’s death was confirmed in tributes, and a funeral was held at Worthing Crematorium, with no cause of death disclosed.
  • She served as press secretary to the then‑Prince of Wales from 1993 to 2000, guiding communications through Charles’s divorce and Princess Diana’s death.
  • The dispute that ended her tenure grew from granting the Daily Telegraph and ITN exclusive access to Prince William’s 18th‑birthday photos, then releasing images more widely, which angered rivals.
  • St James’s Palace said at the time that confusion over the commission left copyright “wrongly vested elsewhere,” noting that proceeds from official images were expected to go to charity.
  • Colleagues including Robert Jobson, Tim Rooke, and Simon McCoy praised her professionalism and said she was “badly let down,” and Henney later recalled fearing a surge in anti‑monarchy feeling after Diana’s death.