The court of public opinion doesn't gain extra legitimacy just because you call it a court, unfortunately. The court of public opinion resulted in the elections of Thatcher, Reagan, Dubya, Trump and Boris, lest we forget, and, for much of the thirties, supported Hitler. Unlike what a real court does, or should do, good judgement is often clouded by loyalty, tribalism, partial information and prejudice (into which mix we could throw racism and misogyny, etc.). I am terribly uninterested in the doings of the royals (though I'd be terribly interested in moves to get rid of them), though one can't ignore the baleful effect they have, by dint of their place at the top of the pyramid, on class and privilege. But our current discussion of paparazzi piqued me to investigate the death of Diana a bit further, and the fact of the matter (and you can look up the facts, both in the French and English reports we've mentioned) is that blaming the paparazzi (however vicious we think they are, and I definitely go along with that) in any way for the crash is unjustified. As for the criticism of the press, well I hate the Mail and Express and Sun as much as the next sane person, but, for me, it's a laugh-out-loud moment for me when I hear of Harry's whingeing about how they've damaged him and Meghan. The royals, along with the majority of other celebrities, revel in being in the public eye, and the mass media is (are?) their main vehicle for keeping them there, and they use it shamelessly. When things turn on them, they can hardly complain unless the depredations of the tabloids step over to the wrong side of what's actually legal. As for those paparazzi on motor bikes, they were worms, bumholes and parasites. But find the facts surrounding that incident and the only sensible conclusion is that Diana and co were killed by a very drunk driver who was breaking the rules of the road. I'm very lucky in that I hate both the royals and the paparazzi in equal measure (roughly). That means I have a better chance of being dispassionate about all this than many a royals' aficionado. As the founder of the Guardian, CP Scott, said, comment is free but facts are sacred...