Up to this point in time, the British monarchy had enjoyed a favourable, if one-sided, relationship with the media. Traditionally, long-established newspapers like The Times and the Daily Telegraph had adopted an extremely deferential stance when it came to the Royal Family, with reportage limited to stuffy bulletins relating mainly to their official engagements. However, times were changing – and fast. Aside from the growing popularity of television, the arrival on the scene of an irreverent Australian newspaper magnate named Rupert Murdoch (who bought the Sun in 1969) ushered in something of a revolution in print news, particularly when it came to the Royal Family.
Murdoch, who harboured Republican tendencies, maintained that Fleet Street should not give royals preferential treatment simply because of their elevated position in society. In short, he believed that they should be subjected to the same scrutiny as anybody else in the public eye. And in this, at least, he echoed the sentiments of a significant proportion of the British public. The advent of the 1970s had brought immense social and economic upheaval to the United Kingdom. Rising unemployment and stagnating living standards meant that many people were becoming increasingly disgruntled and disaffected. As a result they were not as inclined as previous generations to show unquestioning reverence to their hereditary monarchy.
Unfortunately, this change in attitudes couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Queen, who was now in the middle of delicate negotiations with the Government for an increase in her income from the Civil List. These talks had been necessitated by the fact that, despite pursuing a personally frugal lifestyle, the immense cost of running an institution like the British monarchy had meant that Elizabeth had struggled to balance the royal books for years. Although she may have had valid cause to make such a request, Murdoch newspapers showed little mercy when they seized upon the story. Soon, every aspect of the Royal Family’s finances were being scrutinized in public, with the Queen’s tax exempt status being singled out for particular criticism. While the furore over the finances would soon die down, the House of Windsor had to come to terms with the fact that, for the first (but not the last) time in its history, it was getting some seriously bad press.