Prince's press secretary quits

Sandy Henney: Accused of breaking a media agreement

The Prince of Wales's press secretary has resigned in a row over who owns the valuable copyright to pictures of Prince William.

Sandy Henney, who had been in the job for seven years, tendered her resignation which was accepted by Prince Charles "with deep regret".

She was accused of breaking an agreement with the Daily Telegraph after releasing photographs to other national newspapers.

We see this as an acceptance by the Prince of Wales's office that they did behave unprofessionally

Daily Telegraph editor, Charles Moore

The Telegraph's royal photographer Ian Jones, who was given special access to William by St James's Palace, claimed the valuable copyright belonged to him, much to the annoyance of the Palace.

On Friday night - in what commentators have termed an "honourable move" - Mr Jones agreed to transfer the copyright of the photographs according to the directions of the Prince of Wales.

But the Telegraph's editor Charles Moore accused the palace of acting "unprofessionally" over the affair.

Mr Jones, who - it is thought - could have made a million pounds from the pictures, acted "in good faith", said Mr Moore.

Telegraph access

The photographer was given access to Prince William to take pictures marking his 18th birthday on 21 June. The photos were to be released to all national newspapers.

The photos of William were taken at Eton

But the Daily Telegraph claimed it had been given the right to publish the pictures before its rivals.

Two other newspaper groups also demanded the photos up front and the Daily Telegraph said Miss Henney had broken their agreement.

Earlier on Friday, the Prince of Wales appealed to the newspaper and Mr Jones to donate proceeds from the pictures, which could amount to many thousands of pounds, to charity.

The statement said: "The Prince of Wales hopes that, in the light of the clear and consistent policy, no-one should profit from pictures, either of Prince William or Prince Harry, and that those who do own the copyright will make clear that all proceeds will go to charity.

Ian Jones did the honourable thing

"To do otherwise would be to undermine the work the palace, the press and the Press Complaints Commission have all vested in the protection of Prince William and Prince Harry's privacy."

Mr Moore said: "While I am personally sorry that Sandy Henney has resigned, we see this as an acceptance by the Prince of Wales's office that they did behave unprofessionally towards the Telegraph.

"Our concern throughout has been that agreements made with our Royal photographer Ian Jones should be honoured and we were dismayed that this did not happen."

Charles Moore was appalled at the photographer's treatment

It is understood Mr Jones was chosen by Miss Henney to take the pictures because he was considered most likely to get on well with the teenage Prince.

Miss Henney, who is married to the former head of Scotland Yard's Royalty Protection branch, has worked in press relations for more than 20 years.

She had a straight-forward, no-nonsense approach and achieved a close working relationship with the Prince of Wales and his two sons.