Princely painting spree raises cost speculation

Press, 30 April 1984, Page 11

Princely painting spree raises cost speculation

NZPA-AAP London Prince Andrew is expected to pay all compensation claims from journalists he sprayed with white paint during a visit to California last week. The cost of the damage to cameras and clothes could be as high as £15,000. According to “The Times” newspaper, claims for only £l2OO have been filed against the Prince with the British Consulate in Los Angeles.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman told newsmen on Wednesday that all claims would be given “the fullest and most urgent attention" although none had been received by the Palace yet. The “Daily Mail” newspaper said the bills look certain to be paid out of the £20,000 the Prince gets from taxpayers each year. A Royal aide told the newspaper that as the incident happened on an official engagement and the £20,000 was provided for official engagements, “I would imagine that is where the money will come from.” The Prince sprayed the

journalists at a Los Angeles housing project. He was toying with a spray gun when he suddenly turned on them. Officials said later it had been an accident but some onlookers claimed the Prince had laughed and said, “I enjoyed that.” The Palace spokesman said, “Undoubtedly somebody will pay. But until we have seen the claims ourselves we cannot make a precise statement.”

The “Daily Mail” said that there were four possibilities.

The money could come from the Prince’s Navy salary but that was unlikely according to the newspaper’s Palace sources; the second option was for the Queen to pay but this would be seen as her apologising for the Prince’s behaviour, the next option was for the Prince’s insurers to pay. That would be, the newspaper said, the most graceless way of settling the matter. “That leaves the fourth option — that the money will come from the Prince’s Civil List allowance,” it said.