Foreign Affairs ❥ lrh

Gracían Gazetta - Princes Out for Blood!

Gracían Gazetta
March 22, 1999
[Excerpt - English Translation]

Daily News Front Page

"PRINCES OUT FOR BLOOD! GRACÍAN REPORTERS DETAIL ROYAL BATTLE AT FESTIVAL"

Usually a fun occasion for all who attend the Gratzítakken Festival, the annual Jousting Ceremony between Heir Prince Ashton (23) and Prince Luke (21) was mysteriously marred this year like never before. Details about the chaotic second day of the festival are still emerging, but both Princes seemed to have suffered extensive injuries from the brawl and each were reported to have been escorted off the field on stretchers with medics at their sides.

In a short impromptu press conference, Queen Lizabeth addressed a handful of journalists stating her sons were receiving first aid due to injuries caused by malfunctioning weapons but were going to heal quickly. Prince Luke's fianceé, the Duchess Valentina of Whindchester (23), is rumoured to have declined the opportunity to appear at the conference to remain at his side in a medical tent near the jousting field.

The Gazetta has reached out to representatives of the Royal Family of La Gracía for updated comments on the Princes' conditions but have yet to receive a response.

With Camellia Palace going silent, the following coverage on the surrounding events consists of eyewitnesses in the audience for the ceremony as well as a few journalists who were selected and permitted on the viewing deck alongside the Royal Family. It appears that further disorderly conduct unfolded on the deck, but the conflicting accounts of the event leave possible motives unclear.

Multiple sources allege there was an orchestrated effort to physically prevent professional photographers from capturing photographs of the sixth jousting run, described as the worst of the fight between Heir Prince Ashton and Prince Luke. At least three photographers report suffering minor bruises after they were tackled to the ground on the viewing deck, all three alleging that both Princes were off their horses and bleeding by the time they were able to get to their feet.

At this time, it is unconfirmed whether the actions were a part of a stunt, but the timing of the event has led several journalists from the viewing deck to suspect that the foul play against the media was planned ahead of time.

"I have reported on the family for seven years," says Magdalena Sprouse (42), a long-time contract photographer for the Gracían Gazetta. "I have never experienced anything like this before. The entire family has always been kind and professional to me and my colleagues, and I cannot imagine we would be put in harm's way for any reason. I think someone who was on the deck wanted to be the only one with a good picture and decided it was worth risking the safety of the rest of us."

Recounts of what happened on the viewing deck vary and some photographers who were also knocked to the ground declined to give statements at all.

Initial reports stated that there were four photographers who were pushed down but later retellings suggest that there were more than four, including a witness who wished to remain anonymous that asserted the "deliberate attack on the press left no one with a camera standing." This casts doubt on the theory that reckless endangerment of members of the media came from within.

"I don't think what happened at the Festival was an accident at all," claims Deron Paulson (21), a foreign tourist and festival-goer from Austria who says he was in the second row for the joust. "It all seemed like a publicity stunt. There was commotion on the ground and commotion up on the deck- it was pure chaos. It seemed like it was all just calculated for attention so people would make up conspiracy theories. I'm not even convinced the blood on the Princes was real."