header-logo header-logo

A metwand for modern monarchy

24 February 2023 / Michael L Nash
Issue: 8014 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law , Media
printer mail-detail
112054
Equality before the law for all? Michael L Nash navigates the complexity of cases involving royal litigants

In 1923, a century ago, a case came before the Old Bailey in London regarding the murder of an Egyptian aristocrat in the Savoy Hotel. It sounds like something out of Agatha Christie, but in fact it caused anxious ripples in royal circles and beyond, for the person accused of the murder, one Marguerite Al-Fahmy (née Alibert), had been the mistress of the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII and subsequently Duke of Windsor.

He had then been a soldier in Paris in 1917 and 1918. There were compromising letters. It became necessary, in the eyes of the court and the government, for his early liaison with Marguerite to be hushed up. This was conveyed to the judges who were hearing the case. Special treatment being accorded to royal persons came sharply into focus.

But this was not new. In 1911, in the case of R v Mylius, the king,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll