Conference quark::mennotes

    	He can't be executed for treason. The only crimes that still carry
    the death penalty in Britain are high treason (not the same as
    treason), witchcraft, and sabotage in a naval dockyard.
    
    	The most promising charge might be violation of the Official
    Secrets act. That can carry very long terms of imprisonment, and his
    only defence would be if he could prove that what he wrote was pure
    fiction with no basis whatsoever in fact.
    
    	Satellite TV quoted a passage from the book last night, and even if
    you were interested in the content you would probably be sickened by
    the quality of the prose. An independant comment has said that compared
    to this, Barbara Cartland writes great literature. I think an
    appropriate punishment would be that he should be forced to pay for a 2
    minute advertising spot on television for the next 20 years, during
    which he reads passages of his work.

    Actually, according to the gutter press here (Ireland) and in the UK,
    he *can* be executed for treason. The wording given was something like
    'violating the person of the consort to an heir to the throne' (doesn't 
    matter whether or not it was consensual.) The original penalty was 
    beheading, but was reduced to hanging sometime in the sensitive,
    caring 1800's
    
    Grainne  

    	As a correction, he can't be executed for treason, but as someone
    has reminded me in another notes file, this is *high treason* rather
    than mere treason. Therefore he can be executed if what he claims in
    the book can be proven to be true.
    
    	There is also the possibility of a libel suit. Since the book is
    undoubtably defamatory there is a prima faci� case against both him and
    the book publishers. Their only defence against such a libel charge
    would be to prove in court that the book contents was both true, and
    also "in the public interest". "In the public interest" has a legal
    definition which does not equate to prurient curiosity. Most libel
    cases are not pursued because the victim doesn't want to risk a court
    accepting the information as true, but in this case, maybe *he*
    wouldn't want to risk being found innocent in a libel case.
    
    	He could be faced with having to prove in one court that what he
    said was true to avoid imprisonment and heavy fines for libel, while
    having to worry about later proving in another court that what he said
    wasn't true in order to avoid being executed. They just have to bring
    their court cases in the right order.

.0>    What do you think about the "Gentelman" Major who has allegedy made
       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
.0>    love to Princess Diana and then told the world in this new book?



if it had been any good, they'd still be at it. so they're not, so it wasn't.
so the guy's trying to make money out of nothing.


andreas.

    I think she (Di) should sue him and the publishers for every penny they
    have, and give the money to charity. Then perhaps it might make these
    kind of plonkas think first before writing YET MORE rubbish - and put 
    an end to such insects from crawling out of the woodwork.
    
    No, I'm not a royalist - but it is getting VERY BORING hearing about
    yet another "Di Exclusive" - Just let her be.
    
    Vic
     
    
    
    

...and the English say we Americans get all excited over
trivial nonsense...ha! ;-) ;-)

tim

    
    It seems that women have been writing, and making fortunes from, these
    "kiss&tell" books for quite some time now.  Welcome to equal
    opportunity.

    fred();

    Perhaps this gentleman Major, was looking at either or option. Either
    kiss and tell and live off the story line. Or stick to the game plan
    and retire with his military pension at a much later date in life.
    Gotta understand the motives of why someone would do such. Why would a
    bunch of camera hungry tabloid chase Diane all over the island taking
    pictures of her and ol Prince Charles? I think that this is the sort of
    folk that there should be a warnt out for an arrest, for treason. 
    
    Eha,,, such is life in the fast lan....:)
    

    re: .6
>...and the English say we Americans get all excited over
>trivial nonsense...ha! ;-) ;-)
    
    	Come on!  I have seen hours of TV over the last 15 years about U.S.
    prisoners on death row, etc..  This is the first time in the last 30
    years that there has even been a suggestion in the U.K. that someone
    might have committed a capital offence.
    
    	Our last public hangman was pensioned off many years ago when he
    was quite young, and he is now well past retirement age. He spent most
    of his life travelling round places like Singapore and Malaysia
    teaching courses on how to hang someone properly. There was a TV
    interview with him broadcast not too long ago. If the contents of the
    book are ever proven true in a court of law we will have to borrow one
    of his trainees for the occasion.

    In yesterdays' newspaper she (princes Diana) appeared in an article
    regarding some tapes obtained while "making it out" with a guy back in
    1988... that was long before her split with Prince Charles....
    
    Poor Queen has her hands full with her kids.... her family is hardly an
    example of anything, it is worse than a cheap soap opera... it must be
    awfully hard for her to be such a situation.
    
    Ana

 .10>  Poor Queen has her hands full with her kids.... her family is hardly an
 .10>  example of anything, it is worse than a cheap soap opera... it must be
 .10>  awfully hard for her to be such a situation.
    
       Yeah, they don't make decent Consorts anymore...

       I guess the question to be asked is What family doesn't have a scandal?

       Historically, as far as the English monarchy is concerned, this one
       seems to be pretty minor...  They get divorced, so what?  It only
       proves that not all fairy tales have happy endings.  With regard to
       Charles and Diana, who shirked their duty?

       WOW, another fascinating MENNOTES discussion!  :-) :-) :-) 

    
    last night on Beeb Newsahhr, the news was that Chas is claiming that
    he was ordered (or at least heavily persuaded) to marry Ms. Spencer, 
    despite his lack of desire for her, by his dad.

    This morning's news was taking an opinion poll. "who's side are you
    on"?   Charles is supposed to be publishing his own book in which he
    admits to "not being in love with Di".  Di on the otherhand appears to
    have been madly in love with the idea of being a princess!  What a load
    of rubbish...........  Does anyone care about my problems?  I could
    easily get a book going..........
    
    

Look, the guy gets lucky, and he's making money off it...

	I'd shoot him just on that principle alone....

What do 'I' think of him,,, he's a stiff.  :^)