Why did Rupert Murdoch attend the state banquet for a man who is suing him?

In July of this year, the Wall Street Journal exclusively reported that Donald Trump had contributed a “bawdy letter” and drawing for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday book. The book was organized by Ghislaine Maxwell, and Ghislaine had contacted all of Epstein’s closest (predator) friends to contribute. After the WSJ’s report, Donald Trump sued the newspaper, Dow Jones and the Murdoch family for $10 billion. The lawsuit is still pending, but in the meantime, the Epstein estate released the birthday book to Congress, and wouldn’t you know, Trump absolutely did what WSJ said he did – he contributed a creepy letter about how he and Epstein shared a terrible secret, and Trump drew a figure of what looks like a prepubescent girl (perhaps indicative of the terrible secret shared by Epstein and Trump).

So, it definitely feels like Rupert Murdoch and the Murdoch clan have given the nod to WSJ’s editors and reporters. WSJ has been doing a lot of really critical coverage of Trump and this authoritarian administration for months. Which makes it super-curious that Rupert Murdoch and his new wife Elena Zhukova attended this week’s state banquet at Windsor Castle. Per the Daily Beast, Murdoch was seated on the same side of the table as Queen Camilla and Prince William, meaning he was facing Donald Trump across the table.

While everyone is rightly focused on Murdoch’s strained relationship with Trump, I think Murdoch’s presence was actually more about his symbiotic relationship with the Windsors. Murdoch still sees himself as the most powerful press baron of the UK, and he still relishes his power over King Charles, Camilla and the Waleses (Prince William, to this day, still gives all of his major exclusives to the Murdoch-owned Times of London). We also know that Murdoch likes to attend royal events, and he’s always looking to attend a wedding or a banquet or what have you. I’m just saying, this was probably less about Trump and more about Murdoch’s ongoing relations with the royals.

Peter Hunt reminded everyone what Prince Harry said about his father’s dealings with Murdoch/NGN.

Prince Harry’s witness statement (March 2023): pic.twitter.com/DChRPki34m

— Peter Hunt (@_PeterHunt) September 17, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.