Sean Diddy Combs sex trafficking charges: Despite media coverage, what took so long?
Fox News analyst Kat Timpf joined ‘MediaBuzz’ to discuss her take on the Diddy indictment and what changed everything in the federal case.
Sean "Diddy" Combs tried to invite Prince William and Prince Harry to his "wild" parties when they were bachelors, but no-nonsense palace aides put a halt to those plans.
The claim was made by Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," after a resurfaced 2011 interview revealed that the fallen music mogul wanted the princes to attend his infamous bashes.
"Diddy invited both William and Harry back when, as he put it, the brothers ‘were young bucks getting into trouble themselves,’" Andersen explained to Fox News Digital. "Obviously, in their youth, both princes made plenty of headlines with their party animal antics at nightclubs in and around London.
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From left: Prince William, Kanye West, Prince Harry and Diddy pose for the media during a backstage party at Wembley Arena in north London July 1, 2007. Several artists were invited to perform in honor of Princess Diana. (Carl de Souza/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
"Diddy made a point of inviting them to his parties," Andersen claimed. "But those invitations were wisely turned down, and after William and Kate got engaged, Diddy got the hint and stopped inviting them altogether.
"As young bachelors, William and Harry might easily have said yes and attended one of Diddy's wild parties. Thanks to their palace handlers, they dodged a bullet there."
Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Diddy and his attorney for comment.
Diddy, also known as Sean Combs, during a recording of "The Graham Norton Show" at The London Studios in South London. (Getty Images)
During an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show," the Irish TV personality told Diddy, "I read that you want to get Prince William and Prince Harry to a Diddy party."
At first, Diddy hesitated, saying, "I don’t think … not anymore. I mean before you know …" as the audience laughed.
The 54-year-old was referring to William's engagement to Kate Middleton. The couple tied the knot that year.
"Don't ruin our royal wedding for us!" Norton joked.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton married April 29, 2011, in London. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Diddy replied, "Trust me, they're off the list."
Still, Diddy admitted that, in the past, he would’ve loved for the princes to attend one of his parties.
"I was like, 'Why don’t you come hang out with me?'" he recalled.
Prince William and Prince Harry thanked those who took part in the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium July 1, 2007, in London. (Pool/Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images)
It’s noted that while the princes were photographed with Diddy at the after-party for a 2007 concert honoring their mother, the brothers never attended one of his Hollywood parties.
Andersen claimed Diddy was hoping to make his way into the royal fold.
"Diddy has admitted that he aspired to move in royal circles and was even angling for an audience with the late queen," he claimed. "That never happened.
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Diddy performs at Wembley Stadium in north London for the Concert for Diana, a six-hour extravaganza in memory of the Princess of Wales. (Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images)
"I'm sure that King Charles, who has seen the monarchy so badly tarnished by Prince Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, isn't exactly thrilled at even the vague prospect of seeing the royal family dragged into yet another sordid sex scandal.
"King Charles must be grateful that his sons' encounters with Diddy didn't include participating in the rap star's infamous ‘freak offs.'"
Diddy was arrested Sept. 16 and charged the following day with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. The rapper entered a not guilty plea hours after an indictment detailing his alleged sex crimes was unsealed.
Prince Harry with Diddy and Kanye West at the after-party for the Concert for Diana. (Pool photograph/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
On Monday, Diddy's legal team appealed for his release from jail while he awaits trial in his sex trafficking case. From the new documents filed, Combs appears to be "building his dream legal defense team," a source close to Diddy told Fox News Digital.
The "I'll Be Missing You" singer was denied bail twice, even after offering a $50 million bail proposal package, which included GPS monitoring at his home on Miami's Star Island. Diddy's team attempted to show the judge he was not a flight risk through his communications with the U.S. Attorney's Office during the ongoing investigation.
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Diddy pleaded not guilty to the charges. (Getty Images, Elizabeth Williams via AP)
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Carter cited the possibility Diddy would tamper with witnesses in his reasoning for denying bail. The judge conceded the prosecution had proven "by clear and convincing evidence that there is no condition or set of conditions" to secure community safety.
British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital the princes met Diddy long before the sex trafficking probe.
"Prince William and Prince Harry first met the now-disgraced mogul when he performed at their Concert for Diana back in 2007 at Wembley Stadium," she said. "Prince Harry had picked Diddy himself to perform at the concert, as he revealed in his 2023 memoir, ‘Spare.’
"Their interaction was spontaneous and friendly," Fordwich added. "At that juncture, there wasn’t any scandal. It was all very above board and public."
Prince William is heir to the British throne. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Fordwich pointed out that, in 2012, Diddy told The Sun he couldn’t wait to get to the U.K. because London is one of his favorite cities.
"I'm also hoping I'll get to catch up with Prince Harry while I'm there," said Diddy. "He's such a cool guy, and it's about time we hung out. … I need him to take me to some of those wild Mayfair clubs."
William and Harry hosted the Concert for Diana on their mother's birthday that year. According to Vanity Fair, there were 63,000 audience members in attendance and 27 musical acts, including Diddy, who performed "I’ll Be Missing You." The outlet noted the track was previously featured on a 1997 tribute album dedicated to Diana.
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Prince Harry lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)
Kinsey Schofield, host of the "To Di For Daily" podcast, told Fox News Digital the 2011 clip being circulated proves Diddy’s only real encounter with the princes was at "Concert for Diana."
"It is Norton that instigates the question about Diddy's relationship with the young princes," Schofield explained. "I used this clip to defend Prince Harry earlier this year when I felt like he was unfairly dragged into a sexual civil lawsuit against Diddy by Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones, a former producer of Combs. Jones used Prince Harry’s name in his suit as an example of the type of powerful people Combs used to shield his alleged nefarious activities.
WATCH: SEAN DIDDY COMBS SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES: DESPITE MEDIA COVERAGE, WHAT TOOK SO LONG?
"I worked with Combs in 2008," added Schofield. "I did not have a negative experience with him, and I have been devastated and disappointed by the allegations. With that said, I believe the victims, and I am so sorry that their experience was different from mine. I hope each victim can find healing through the justice system, no matter how slow it can be.
Diddy was known for his "white parties." (Bryan Bedder/CP/Getty Images for CP)
"In this instance, having worked with Combs myself, I felt like this entire exchange between Graham Norton and the rapper was in jest," Schofield continued. "’The Graham Norton Show’ is like nothing in the United States. It is a small, intimate studio, a lively audience and international celebrities … [that] typically ham it up for [an] in-studio audience that is very engaged and also excited to be there."
"Celebrities sit on the couch and try to one-up each other with funny stories to make the audience giggle," she pointed out. "I do not believe Diddy's relationship with the princes was anything beyond the positive experience had by all at Concert for Diana."
During his sit-down with Norton, 61, Diddy said he’d "like to meet" Queen Elizabeth II.
Diddy once said he wanted to meet Queen Elizabeth II. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
"She doesn't have to hang out with me, but I could just go over for some tea or something, and we could kick it," he said.
Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
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