Legal Village

Spanish cartoon fiasco is right royal mess

Posted 6/08/2007 by Dan Tench

Just returned from Spain where lawyers are agog with an order imposed to prevent the distribution of the satirical magazine El Jueves on the basis that it offended the honour of the Spanish royal family.

The issue in question had a front page which carried a lurid cartoon depicting the Prince of Asturias, the heir to the throne, making love to his wife. The cartoon was to mark the coming in to force of a law to provide a maintenance grant €2,500 for every child. The cartoon had the Prince saying: "This is the most work I will do in my life."

All very witty. But not to the the Fiscal General, who considered that the cartoon constituted un crimen contra la corona (a crime against the crown), or to Judge Juan del Olmo, who granted an order preventing the issue being circulated. The magazine forcibly argued that the royal couple were representative of Spanish society and that they had a right to freedom of expression that allowed publication. But so far to no avail.

Of course, this was almost simultaneous with the imbroglio here over the trailer shown by the BBC to journalists giving a false impression that the Queen had stormed out of a photo shoot. It seems that royal publicity is apt to court controversy in either country. Whether, say, Private Eye or even Viz would dare print a similar picture of Charles and Camilla is difficult to say (and would one want to see it?). However, if they did, one would hope that it would be unlikely that the Attorney General would want to intervene.