Camilla Tominey
The Telegraph
This last year Tominey continued to lead the royal press pack as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex doubled down on their quest for “financial independence” with a sensational six-part Netflix documentary at the end of 2022 and the publication of Harry’s bombshell autobiography, Spare, at the beginning of 2023.
Deepening the public’s understanding of an important story that not only dominated the headlines for weeks but has changed the shape of the British monarchy, Tominey once again delved deep into her unparalleled contacts book to produce insightful, informative and entertaining coverage that trounced her rivals when it came to telling readers what was really going on behind palace gates. For “Devastated: How the late Queen really felt about Harry and Meghan’s betrayal in her final days”, Tominey forensically pieced together the true picture of what really happened in the final weeks and months of the late Queen’s life by interviewing well-placed insiders. Until then, they had remained silent on the issue. The agenda-setting essay was picked up by rivals around the world.
Tominey then returned to #bridesmaidsdressgate to provide an alternative narrative on the breakdown of the Sussexes’ relationship with the Waleses to the one provided by the couple on Netflix and Spare.
Again, the highly-detailed, impeccably-sourced piece - showcasing Tominey’s trademark originality and flair in the field of royal reporting - was quickly followed by rival royal reporters who, until then, had only been able to provide their readers with one side of a complex story.
Her expose, Frazzled, which revealed how Harry and Meghan were on such different paths that the Duke was occasionally sleeping alone in a Montecito hotel, was similarly reproduced by the world’s media.
Despite its popularity with broadsheet and tabloid readers alike, royal reporting has long been looked down upon by some in the industry despite being one of the most difficult fields in which to root out exclusives. It is a specialism which few over the years have really been able to master. Time and again, Tominey has proved herself to be a specialist who goes above and beyond to find out new information and tell readers something they didn’t know before. No other royal journalist’s stories have proven anywhere near as agenda-setting as Tominey’s and 2023 - a bumper year for royal news - was no different.