Royal rape allegations
The week's news at a glance.
London
Buckingham Palace was once again rocked by scandal when a former royal valet said this week he was raped by a male servant to Prince Charles—and that the prince covered up the assault. George Smith said that one night in 1989, he got drunk and passed out at the home of one of Prince Charles’ top aides. “I woke up. I was hurting,” he told the Daily Mail. “He was just laughing. He knew that he had got his way with me.” The unnamed servant said the sex was consensual, and Charles backed him up. Only Diana, Smith said, took his side. When Smith was later hospitalized for depression, Diana taped his story. The tape was one of the items alleged to have been stolen by Paul Burrell, Diana’s butler, before the queen stepped in last week to halt Burrell’s trial. Now the tape is nowhere to be found, and lawmakers are calling for an independent investigation into the alleged rape and coverup.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'The future of abortion access in many states may come down to who has the final say'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US makes first Gaza aid delivery from floating pier
Speed Read Israeli restrictions on border crossings have prevented food and supplies from reaching Gaza citizens
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published