I saw this as a good PR move also. However, I could not get over the exposure of their children in so many shots. To me, I saw this as a direct message to Brits that here is your line of succession-strong, familial, loving and joyful. Also, the inclusion of the senior Middletons in the reel made me think that although their role is an informal, they are very much a part of ensuring the well-being of future monarch’s. Just sayin’.
Lastly, the cinematic home movie style was no accident. The whole thing looked like a Steven Spielberg, or even more pioneering, a Frank Capra production. As for Harry wife, she’s facing a rebranding need every time she opens her mouth, posts on line, or leaves the house, but not before calling in an order to Backgrid. Her need to continually reboot is of her own doing. I don’t think even Spielberg or Capra could save her or her male lead, at this point, but call Central Casting to have a couple of child actors on standby just in case…
Catherine driving what looks like a stick shift Landrover being a “possible” nod to the late Queen? I had to double check who was driving, because it was an almost exact remake-camera angle, body position, driving style, hand on the “stick” of the famous, oft-repeated footage of the Queen behind the wheel. Obvious, but effective alignment with the late sovereign….these people are good!
I think William was not in the first video, of course not because he wasn’t supportive, but because he was still out there, the future King, working for his country. I think the palace trusted the public to know he was and will be there for her. He didn’t need to be physically there. Plus, it might have felt awkward with him just sitting there, holding her hand, or even worse, stating obvious platitudes about love, family, and support. Too personal for him, especially knowing how he does not seem to like over sharing private family messages or emotions through the media. We are smart enough to know his stand on the subject! And, having him there could have created the image that both were compromised, and both were unable to fulfill their duties. Two “MIAs” in the already slimmed-down monarchy looks like it’s non-existent, nobody is minding the store, so why do we need it anyway? Plus, when the average family is faced with a health crisis like this, one working member probably can’t completely quit their job to care for the other. And, with the King also suffering a major health setback , William is needed to take over extra responsibilities, and to be seen as committed and dedicated to his position. It was her news, and sharing it alone, to me, made her look brave, but still vulnerable, thus eliciting sympathy and support. Clearly I’m voting “right call”…
Also, no one can “replace” the late Queen! I think the message is, quite literally, that the PoW is traveling towards, and will eventually arrive at the same “destination” the late Queen. It’s a statement/reminder that the Princess is following a route of remembrance, respect and reverence for the Queen and monarchy, on the journey…
At first the press was effusive. But the very next day the criticism started. Apparently there was too much symbolism, too artificial, too inauthentic. The Standard published an article under the headline: „Can the crown survive Kate’s dreadful video?“ and the sub-headline: "I'm delighted the Princess of Wales is getting better, but that dreadful video was like a shampoo advert." The article stated, among other things: „But forgive me...was it necessary to share this news with the nation in an utterly grisly video? If she were advertising Herbal Essences (Tropical Showers) shampoo, it would have been just the thing. The shots of her walking in slow motion through a sunlit meadow, her long hair moving in the breeze, her slender figure shown to advantage in her simple cotton frock, why, it made one feel emotionally manipulated, squeezed like a lemon for the last drop of sympathy. So, she’s feeling well? One is glad; one doesn’t need the point rub-bed home with a gruesome image of her releasing a little yellow butterfly from her hand.“ And Melanie McDonagh ended: „Kate’s is the stuff of every contemporary selfhelp book to do with living in the moment and being grateful for the small stuff. Is emotional reticence now over in the Royal family? […] But it comes at a cost. By turning the Royals into exhibits of emotional wellness, it diminishes their value as parts of a national institution in which dignity is the main thing. Kate has lost that.“ Under the headline: „Kate Middleton’s Video Is About Way More Than Her Cancer Recovery“ and the subheadline: „Kate Middleton’s cancer video is a very personal statement, a piece of calculated royal merchandising, and an audacious selfinvasion of privacy intended to neutralize critics“ the Daily Beast wrote: „One of the earliest memes to appear after the video set it to the theme music of Succession; and not only is this funny - it’s a perfect match in both mood and vibebut it also captures the video’s oddly intense sense of purpose. It is so desperate to capture the Waleses at play, the Waleses strong, the Waleses unified and at ease in the bucolic surrounds of their Norfolk home - and to do this in easy-breezy pastel and sepia shades - that its seriousness, its serious intent, to sell Kate and William anew as a couple and as parents and family unit becomes starkly apparent. The video is premium royal merchandising - how cynically executed depends on the observer. Kate and William are adults, and so are their advisers, and this is how they have chosen to convey their message. Think for a moment of how this message could have been delivered, according to traditional royal dictates. A simple statement sent to the Press Association. Maybe a nice new family picture. A new video of Kate, with or without family, sitting on a bench, as a companion piece to the video in which she announced her cancer diagnosis. This video is deliberately, absolutely not that. In its vivid, over-the-top repudiation of what we expect from Kate and William, and the royals more generally, it heralds a sea-change in how this couple wants to sell itself to the public. In this sense, what is striking in its tone and execution is how much it owes to the loosening of stuffy strictures and savvy marketing attributed to their nemeses, the Sussexes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Imagine for a moment if the latter had released such a video - and the gale of criticism and snark and sneering that would have rained down on them for doing so. And there has been online criticism of Kate and William - much from cancer sufferers and their loved ones questioning Kate’s delirious Hallmark-imagery set against many others’ experiences of the disease, and why Kate couldn’t have linked to charities, or reached out to the wider cancer community beyond her admirable if vague statements of strength and endurance. But generally, the reaction to the Kate and William video has been positive, if a little stunned at seeing this previously square couple suddenly throwing off the shackles of dullness so visibly and publicly. However, without Harry and Meghan’s leading the way with their Oprah confessional, all the dish of Harry’s memoir, and the general, emotional openness the pair have propagated, would we be seeing Kate talking about her feelings so openly while running through wheat, and blissing out in celestial sunbeams? Far from an acknowledgment of the debt to the Sussexes, William is still daggers-drawn with Harry, and - when the promo for the Sussexes’ latest Net-flix project dropped hours later on Monday - the media was back to howling at them for daring to sell something so soon after Kate and William put out their video. This was especially ironic, as Harry and Meghan are, whatever you think about them, honest that they are selling themselves. They want you to watch them, and buy their product. If you do, if you like them, fine; if not, fine. The Kate cancer video is also a selling tool - but couched and centered in the recovery from trauma. It may have a nobler frame, but it is still an advertisement. “Kate and William are selling themsel-ves just as ruthlessly and calculatedly as Harry and Meghan do.” One could claim it is far more cynical than Harry and Meghan’s because it is rooted in the suffering and recovery of something so serious it seeks to neutralize any cynicism, or even sober analysis, on impact. Kate and William are selling themselves just as ruthlessly and calculatedly as Harry and Meghan do; the difference is, Harry and Meghan are standing at the cash register, ready to take your money (or not), while Kate and William are standing to the side, nervously thanking you for coming to the store, ready to direct you to the cash register, if you, like, want. This selling of royalty is not new. Queen Elizabeth II did it. Prince Charles and Princess Diana did it. They all do it with their ceremonies and rituals and palaces. The mode of that selling has shifted over the years, but the intent is still the same - this family wants the British public to continue to fund its existence, and for the rest of the world to buy into its mystique and tabloid intrigues and insane soap operas enough to keep shelling out tourist dollars to come see its palaces, and - in the territories where this still holds sway - to retain Charles, and William, and whoever comes next as their heads of state. William, in particular, knows this is untenable; that not only deference to the institution but also the point of royalty is in question. This video is a telling piece of messaging, revealing how he and Kate are trying to navigate a route through to modernity while retaining the mystique that Queen Elizabeth saw as vital to the maintenance of the institution. The video may have modern dressing, but in spirit and intent it is no different to the stiff royal portraits of old which emphasized like the video the eternally entwined royal themes of family, family, family, and the maintenance of the institution. Don't be fooled by the Insta-dressing; this is the royals selling themselves as they have always done. Kate and William, like their royal and celebrity compadres, want to circumvent the intrusion of the tabloids by artfully intruding on themselves - and hope this is enough to sate curiosity. The struggle for the living generations of royals is one shared by all famous and very rich people, who seek to market themselves while hoping to keep prying eyes away from whatever is happening behind closed doors. This battle around mystique and openness was already evident in 1969, when the royals let the cameras in for the landmark documentary Royal Family. There is a reason why that documentary was hidden away for so long.“ part I, further in the next answer.
In The Guardian wrote Marina Hyde an article under the headline: „I feel deep sympathy for Kate and I’m glad she’s better. But this dance with the media devil won’t work.“ The column blamed the people for Kensington Palace feeling compelled to dominate the narrative and release a promotional film. „But service is not the same as people feeling forced to serve themselves up. It was often said, back in the mid-90s, that Diana learned to control the narra-tive. Did she really, though? As David Beckham stagily remarked in infinitely lighter circumstances in a recent candid film of his own: “Be honest.”“ I fundamentaley diagree. It was the monthlong misinformation by Prince Williams Communication-Team that led to the crisis. Only authenticity and transparency would lead us out of it. Particularly notable are two critical ar-ticles in the Daily Mail, the tabloid that usually goes out of its way to protect the Royals. First Liz Jones critizised: “A few simple words we have all waited anxiously to hear. Phew. I was in tears. But then, suddenly and inexplicably, what began as a heartfelt message, a tonic, a relief after all the months of obfuscation, descended into a Boden advert. Or something Marc Jacobs might use to sell scent. There were trees. And ferns, so many ferns. Dappled sunlight. The sort of frolicking by children amongst farm machinery and ploughed fields that seemed to locate it not in 2024, but circa the Second World War, not least because of the old-fashioned cine camera special effects. Perhaps that was the message. Kate has been though hell, through a battle. And she is winning.” „And yet the ‘highly choreographed’ (those were the words used by the usually sycophantic ITV News at Ten), slick and softfocus three-minute video released … was surely as misjudged as the 1969 documentary that attempted to portray the royal family as ‘normal’, backfiring so badly the Queen made sure it was never seen again. If that documentary following a year in the life of the monarch was accused of ruining the royal mystique by making them seem like any other ‘modern’ family, this new video was attempting to do the opposite. To portray the Waleses as hyper real, perfect, retro. Like something out of an Enid Blyton novel. But why on earth? A real portrayal would show the kids on their phones, surely. Catherine would look tired and pensive, not perfect with conker-coloured hair.“ „She says it has been ‘incredibly tough’ but the trouble is, it all looks like a photogenic walk in the park. Only William seems almost real. Reclined on various blankets, or on the sand, he is awkward, as if placed there, limbs carefully arranged like a marionette. Catherine, towards the end of her voiceover (also strange, making the video seem like a wildlife documentary), speaks of walking side by side, hand in hand with other cancer sufferers, but in this short film she has never seemed more detached. It doesn’t help that her words are backed by a soundtrack of slow, ’emotional’ piano.“ „Cancer is messy, imperfect, shattering. After all the mental health initiatives, her work stressing the importance of shaping young minds, this strange, odd film seems a misfire from a family once so protective of their privacy. It smacks of something Meghan and Harry might come up with: Hallmark, cringy, cliched. Not real or from the heart at all.“ „Wouldn’t it have meant more if Catherine had discussed the type of cancer she is suffering from, possibly saving hundreds if not thousands of lives? Perhaps a video of her meeting other women with the same diagnosis? Where was the Catherine from that bench in Windsor, baring her soul, telling us of her diagnosis? Replaced by a chimera. An ideal. An illusion. Who at Kensington Palace thought this was the right approach? There were lots of sober comment pieces in the papers yesterday, saying Kate has taken control, driven the narrative. But it all seems off, and the public is seeing through it. After a strange video looking ecstatic leaving a farm shop, and radiant appearances at the Trooping of the Colour and Wimbledon, we suddenly have this outpouring of intimacy that, to me, to many of us, seems a bit… desperate.“ „To my mind, the portrait of our next King was off, too. How can we take William seriously, having seen his bare legs, wrapped around his wife? The monarchy is hanging by a thread, please don’t stretch our credulity. This was a film too easily dismissed as manipulative by those who don’t like the royals. I am, of course, a staunch supporter, but even I don’t want yet another Instagram account, spooning fantasy into our open mouths, as if we are baby birds, not adults with our own mounting problems.“ One day later, Richard Eden, Editor at the Daily Mail, followed up with additional criticism and this time, it became clear that the criticism was coming from Buckingham Palace, specifically from King Charles himself. Eden wrote: „But the superslick video that Kensington Palace released on Monday to broadcast the welcome update on her health has divided opinion among courtiers - and provoked a scathing backlash from some friends of King Charles and Queen Camilla. Their Majesties haven’t yet commented on the extraordinary three-minute film […] But the highly-stylised video certainly laid bare how radically different Prince William and Catherine’s approach to communications has become from the more traditional methods favoured by the King and Queen, and Queen Elizabeth before them. Notably, while Catherine’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, are shown playing cards with their grandchildren at what appears to be Anmer Hall, the Prince and Princess’s home on the King’s Sandringham estate, King Charles and Queen Camilla are nowhere to be seen in the video. Some of the monarch’s friends are critical. One told me: ‘There’s no coincidence that the Middletons appear in it and not the King and Queen. I can assure you that Charles and Camilla will not be filmed kissing each other on a beach [as William and Catherine were] until hell freezes over. It’s distinctly unregal.’ I spoke to another insider who was even more scathing. ‘All that lying round, hugging and kissing - they’re not soppy teenagers,’ they said. ‘It felt manipulative. It’s the sort of thing that Meghan would make. ‘All the time, effort and expense put into making the video could have been much better spent elsewhere. Why not visit other women being treated for cancer? That’s what Diana would have done.’“ Finally, Eden expresses his personal opinion: „Even though I think the latest video is very sweet, I stand by those comments now. William and Catherine don’t need to be ‘Instagram royals’, hungry for ‘li-kes’ and ‘engagement’ online. They should follow the example of Queen Elizabeth. The late Queen was always keen to keep up to date with the latest technology but, at the same time, maintain the dignity of the Monarchy.“ At Piers Morgan Tessa Dunlop said: „What disturbs me slightly, ... is the way in which the two leading female protagonists, Kate and Meghan, are taking the way back to the 1950ties, Me-ghan with the mixing bowl and flowers, Kate skipping through cornfields, the sort of verkannt mother, just to make a recovering to be loving and loved. […] I don‘t think that is represantative of the standard woman who get cancer, who is a mother and also has to push on other fronts. I think I want something that spoke to modern women today and neither Meghan nor Kate speak to modern women.“ Under the headline: „Cancer is scary and grim, yet Kate made it look like a pop video“ Camilla Long wrote in the Telegraph: „There was no real discussion of cancer, no real insight into who they were; nor did it set the tone, crucially, for a shared experience with us. That is crucial. I’d have preferred, myself, to skip straight to the bit where we could simply be delighted that Kate was back looking incredible in black at the Cenotaph. I don’t blame Kate for any of this, by the way. She’s got three kids; she’s had a draining, desperate year; her husband pays people to get this sort of thing right. But I am not sure they did.
Would love to see your analysis of Meghan Markle. Her use of PR seems to be unnecessary and prolific. It is the first time I actually noticed that perhaps a public figure writes their own PR. It seems there is constant press releases about the silliest things with overuse of words about how "ravishing" and "stunning" she is. She seems to be overly featured in the digital content for People, Marie Claire, Harpers Bazaar, Town and Country, and Hello! but rarely print editions. In fact, I read so much ridiculous content about MM, that I have wondered how much this woman spends to be in the press with so much frequency.
I think William was not in the first video, of course not because he wasn’t supportive, but because he was still out there, the future King, working for his country. I think the palace trusted the public to know he was and will be there for her. He didn’t need to be physically there. Plus, it might have felt awkward with him just sitting there, holding her hand, or even worse, stating obvious platitudes about love, family, and support. Too personal for him, especially knowing how he does not seem to like over sharing private family messages or emotions through the media. We are smart enough to know his stand on the subject! And, having him there could have created the image that both were compromised, and both were unable to fulfill their duties. Two “MIAs” in the already slimmed-down monarchy looks like it’s non-existent, nobody is minding the store, so why do we need it anyway? Plus, when the average family is faced with a health crisis like this, one working member probably can’t completely quit their job to care for the other. And, with the King also suffering a major health setback , William is needed to take over extra responsibilities, and to be seen as committed and dedicated to his position. It was her news, and sharing it alone, to me, made her look brave, but still vulnerable, thus eliciting sympathy and support. Clearly I’m voting “right call”…
I saw this as a good PR move also. However, I could not get over the exposure of their children in so many shots. To me, I saw this as a direct message to Brits that here is your line of succession-strong, familial, loving and joyful. Also, the inclusion of the senior Middletons in the reel made me think that although their role is an informal, they are very much a part of ensuring the well-being of future monarch’s. Just sayin’.
Lastly, the cinematic home movie style was no accident. The whole thing looked like a Steven Spielberg, or even more pioneering, a Frank Capra production.
As for Harry wife, she’s facing a rebranding need every time she opens her mouth, posts on line, or leaves the house, but not before calling in an order to Backgrid. Her need to continually reboot is of her own doing. I don’t think even Spielberg or Capra could save her or her male lead, at this point, but call Central Casting to have a couple of child actors on standby just in case…
Catherine driving what looks like a stick shift Landrover being a “possible” nod to the late Queen?
I had to double check who was driving, because it was an almost exact remake-camera angle, body position, driving style, hand on the “stick” of the famous, oft-repeated footage of the Queen behind the wheel. Obvious, but effective alignment with the late sovereign….these people are good!
She’s not Kate.
She’s not Middleton.
She’s Princess Catherine.
You bloody colonist…😂
I think William was not in the first video, of course not because he wasn’t supportive, but because he was still out there, the future King, working for his country. I think the palace trusted the public to know he was and will be there for her. He didn’t need to be physically there. Plus, it might have felt awkward with him just sitting there, holding her hand, or even worse, stating obvious platitudes about love, family, and support. Too personal for him, especially knowing how he does not seem to like over sharing private family messages or emotions through the media. We are smart enough to know his stand on the subject! And, having him there could have created the image that both were compromised, and both were unable to fulfill their duties. Two “MIAs” in the already slimmed-down monarchy looks like it’s non-existent, nobody is minding the store, so why do we need it anyway? Plus, when the average family is faced with a health crisis like this, one working member probably can’t completely quit their job to care for the other. And, with the King also suffering a major health setback , William is needed to take over extra responsibilities, and to be seen as committed and dedicated to his position. It was her news, and sharing it alone, to me, made her look brave, but still vulnerable, thus eliciting sympathy and support. Clearly I’m voting “right call”…
Also, no one can “replace” the late Queen!
I think the message is, quite literally, that the PoW is traveling towards, and will eventually arrive at the same “destination” the late Queen. It’s a statement/reminder that the Princess is following a route of remembrance, respect and reverence for the Queen and monarchy, on the journey…
At first the press was effusive. But the very next day the criticism started. Apparently there was too much symbolism, too artificial, too inauthentic.
The Standard published an article under the headline: „Can the crown survive Kate’s dreadful video?“ and the sub-headline: "I'm delighted the Princess of Wales is getting better, but that dreadful video was like a shampoo advert." The article stated, among other things:
„But forgive me...was it necessary to share this news with the nation in an utterly grisly video? If she were advertising Herbal Essences (Tropical Showers) shampoo, it would have been just the thing. The shots of her walking in slow motion through a sunlit meadow, her long hair moving in the breeze, her slender figure shown to advantage in her simple cotton frock, why, it made one feel emotionally manipulated, squeezed like a lemon for the last drop of sympathy. So, she’s feeling well? One is glad; one doesn’t need the point rub-bed home with a gruesome image of her releasing a little yellow butterfly from her hand.“ And Melanie McDonagh ended:
„Kate’s is the stuff of every contemporary selfhelp book to do with living in the moment and being grateful for the small stuff. Is emotional reticence now over in the Royal family? […] But it comes at a cost. By turning the Royals into exhibits of emotional wellness, it diminishes their value as parts of a national institution in which dignity is the main thing. Kate has lost that.“
Under the headline: „Kate Middleton’s Video Is About Way More Than Her Cancer Recovery“ and the subheadline: „Kate Middleton’s cancer video is a very personal statement, a piece of calculated royal merchandising, and an audacious selfinvasion of privacy intended to neutralize critics“ the Daily Beast wrote:
„One of the earliest memes to appear after the video set it to the theme music of Succession; and not only is this funny - it’s a perfect match in both mood and vibebut it also captures the video’s oddly intense sense of purpose. It is so desperate to capture the Waleses at play, the Waleses strong, the Waleses unified and at ease in the bucolic surrounds of their Norfolk home - and to do this in easy-breezy pastel and sepia shades - that its seriousness, its serious intent, to sell Kate and William anew as a couple and as parents and family unit becomes starkly apparent. The video is premium royal merchandising - how cynically executed depends on the observer.
Kate and William are adults, and so are their advisers, and this is how they have chosen to convey their message. Think for a moment of how this message could have been delivered, according to traditional royal dictates. A simple statement sent to the Press Association. Maybe a nice new family picture. A new video of Kate, with or without family, sitting on a bench, as a companion piece to the video in which she announced her cancer diagnosis.
This video is deliberately, absolutely not that. In its vivid, over-the-top repudiation of what we expect from Kate and William, and the royals more generally, it heralds a sea-change in how this couple wants to sell itself to the public. In this sense, what is striking in its tone and execution is how much it owes to the loosening of stuffy strictures and savvy marketing attributed to their nemeses, the Sussexes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Imagine for a moment if the latter had released such a video - and the gale of criticism and snark and sneering that would have rained down on them for doing so. And there has been online criticism of Kate and William - much from cancer sufferers and their loved ones questioning Kate’s delirious Hallmark-imagery set against many others’ experiences of the disease, and why Kate couldn’t have linked to charities, or reached out to the wider cancer community beyond her admirable if vague statements of strength and endurance.
But generally, the reaction to the Kate and William video has been positive, if a little stunned at seeing this previously square couple suddenly throwing off the shackles of dullness so visibly and publicly. However, without Harry and Meghan’s leading the way with their Oprah confessional, all the dish of Harry’s memoir, and the general, emotional openness the pair have propagated, would we be seeing Kate talking about her feelings so openly while running through wheat, and blissing out in celestial sunbeams?
Far from an acknowledgment of the debt to the Sussexes, William is still daggers-drawn with Harry, and - when the promo for the Sussexes’ latest Net-flix project dropped hours later on Monday - the media was back to howling at them for daring to sell something so soon after Kate and William put out their video.
This was especially ironic, as Harry and Meghan are, whatever you think about them, honest that they are selling themselves. They want you to watch them, and buy their product. If you do, if you like them, fine; if not, fine. The Kate cancer video is also a selling tool - but couched and centered in the recovery from trauma. It may have a nobler frame, but it is still an advertisement.
“Kate and William are selling themsel-ves just as ruthlessly and calculatedly as Harry and Meghan do.”
One could claim it is far more cynical than Harry and Meghan’s because it is rooted in the suffering and recovery of something so serious it seeks to neutralize any cynicism, or even sober analysis, on impact.
Kate and William are selling themselves just as ruthlessly and calculatedly as Harry and Meghan do; the difference is, Harry and Meghan are standing at the cash register, ready to take your money (or not), while Kate and William are standing to the side, nervously thanking you for coming to the store, ready to direct you to the cash register, if you, like, want.
This selling of royalty is not new. Queen Elizabeth II did it. Prince Charles and Princess Diana did it. They all do it with their ceremonies and rituals and palaces. The mode of that selling has shifted over the years, but the intent is still the same - this family wants the British public to continue to fund its existence, and for the rest of the world to buy into its mystique and tabloid intrigues and insane soap operas enough to keep shelling out tourist dollars to come see its palaces, and - in the territories where this still holds sway - to retain Charles, and William, and whoever comes next as their heads of state.
William, in particular, knows this is untenable; that not only deference to the institution but also the point of royalty is in question. This video is a telling piece of messaging, revealing how he and Kate are trying to navigate a route through to modernity while retaining the mystique that Queen Elizabeth saw as vital to the maintenance of the institution.
The video may have modern dressing, but in spirit and intent it is no different to the stiff royal portraits of old which emphasized like the video the eternally entwined royal themes of family, family, family, and the maintenance of the institution. Don't be fooled by the Insta-dressing; this is the royals selling themselves as they have always done.
Kate and William, like their royal and celebrity compadres, want to circumvent the intrusion of the tabloids by artfully intruding on themselves - and hope this is enough to sate curiosity. The struggle for the living generations of royals is one shared by all famous and very rich people, who seek to market themselves while hoping to keep prying eyes away from whatever is happening behind closed doors.
This battle around mystique and openness was already evident in 1969, when the royals let the cameras in for the landmark documentary Royal Family. There is a reason why that documentary was hidden away for so long.“
part I, further in the next answer.
In The Guardian wrote Marina Hyde an article under the headline: „I feel deep sympathy for Kate and I’m glad she’s better. But this dance with the media devil won’t work.“
The column blamed the people for Kensington Palace feeling compelled to dominate the narrative and release a promotional film.
„But service is not the same as people feeling forced to serve themselves up. It was often said, back in the mid-90s, that Diana learned to control the narra-tive. Did she really, though? As David Beckham stagily remarked in infinitely lighter circumstances in a recent candid film of his own: “Be honest.”“
I fundamentaley diagree. It was the monthlong misinformation by Prince Williams Communication-Team that led to the crisis. Only authenticity and transparency would lead us out of it.
Particularly notable are two critical ar-ticles in the Daily Mail, the tabloid that usually goes out of its way to protect the Royals. First Liz Jones critizised:
“A few simple words we have all waited anxiously to hear. Phew. I was in tears. But then, suddenly and inexplicably, what began as a heartfelt message, a tonic, a relief after all the months of obfuscation, descended into a Boden advert. Or something Marc Jacobs might use to sell scent. There were trees. And ferns, so many ferns. Dappled sunlight. The sort of frolicking by children amongst farm machinery and ploughed fields that seemed to locate it not in 2024, but circa the Second World War, not least because of the old-fashioned cine camera special effects. Perhaps that was the message. Kate has been though hell, through a battle. And she is winning.”
„And yet the ‘highly choreographed’ (those were the words used by the usually sycophantic ITV News at Ten), slick and softfocus three-minute video released … was surely as misjudged as the 1969 documentary that attempted to portray the royal family as ‘normal’, backfiring so badly the Queen made sure it was never seen again. If that documentary following a year in the life of the monarch was accused of ruining the royal mystique by making them seem like any other ‘modern’ family, this new video was attempting to do the opposite. To portray the Waleses as hyper real, perfect, retro. Like something out of an Enid Blyton novel. But why on earth? A real portrayal would show the kids on their phones, surely. Catherine would look tired and pensive, not perfect with conker-coloured hair.“
„She says it has been ‘incredibly tough’ but the trouble is, it all looks like a photogenic walk in the park. Only William seems almost real. Reclined on various blankets, or on the sand, he is awkward, as if placed there, limbs carefully arranged like a marionette. Catherine, towards the end of her voiceover (also strange, making the video seem like a wildlife documentary), speaks of walking side by side, hand in hand with other cancer sufferers, but in this short film she has never seemed more detached. It doesn’t help that her words are backed by a soundtrack of slow, ’emotional’ piano.“
„Cancer is messy, imperfect, shattering. After all the mental health initiatives, her work stressing the importance of shaping young minds, this strange, odd film seems a misfire from a family once so protective of their privacy. It smacks of something Meghan and Harry might come up with: Hallmark, cringy, cliched. Not real or from the heart at all.“
„Wouldn’t it have meant more if Catherine had discussed the type of cancer she is suffering from, possibly saving hundreds if not thousands of lives? Perhaps a video of her meeting other women with the same diagnosis? Where was the Catherine from that bench in Windsor, baring her soul, telling us of her diagnosis? Replaced by a chimera. An ideal. An illusion. Who at Kensington Palace thought this was the right approach? There were lots of sober comment pieces in the papers yesterday, saying Kate has taken control, driven the narrative. But it all seems off, and the public is seeing through it. After a strange video looking ecstatic leaving a farm shop, and radiant appearances at the Trooping of the Colour and Wimbledon, we suddenly have this outpouring of intimacy that, to me, to many of us, seems a bit… desperate.“
„To my mind, the portrait of our next King was off, too. How can we take William seriously, having seen his bare legs, wrapped around his wife? The monarchy is hanging by a thread, please don’t stretch our credulity. This was a film too easily dismissed as manipulative by those who don’t like the royals. I am, of course, a staunch supporter, but even I don’t want yet another Instagram account, spooning fantasy into our open mouths, as if we are baby birds, not adults with our own mounting problems.“
One day later, Richard Eden, Editor at the Daily Mail, followed up with additional criticism and this time, it became clear that the criticism was coming from Buckingham Palace, specifically from King Charles himself. Eden wrote:
„But the superslick video that Kensington Palace released on Monday to broadcast the welcome update on her health has divided opinion among courtiers - and provoked a scathing backlash from some friends of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Their Majesties haven’t yet commented on the extraordinary three-minute film […] But the highly-stylised video certainly laid bare how radically different Prince William and Catherine’s approach to communications has become from the more traditional methods favoured by the King and Queen, and Queen Elizabeth before them.
Notably, while Catherine’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, are shown playing cards with their grandchildren at what appears to be Anmer Hall, the Prince and Princess’s home on the King’s Sandringham estate, King Charles and Queen Camilla are nowhere to be seen in the video.
Some of the monarch’s friends are critical. One told me: ‘There’s no coincidence that the Middletons appear in it and not the King and Queen. I can assure you that Charles and Camilla will not be filmed kissing each other on a beach [as William and Catherine were] until hell freezes over. It’s distinctly unregal.’
I spoke to another insider who was even more scathing.
‘All that lying round, hugging and kissing - they’re not soppy teenagers,’ they said. ‘It felt manipulative. It’s the sort of thing that Meghan would make.
‘All the time, effort and expense put into making the video could have been much better spent elsewhere. Why not visit other women being treated for cancer? That’s what Diana would have done.’“
Finally, Eden expresses his personal opinion:
„Even though I think the latest video is very sweet, I stand by those comments now. William and Catherine don’t need to be ‘Instagram royals’, hungry for ‘li-kes’ and ‘engagement’ online.
They should follow the example of Queen Elizabeth. The late Queen was always keen to keep up to date with the latest technology but, at the same time, maintain the dignity of the Monarchy.“
At Piers Morgan Tessa Dunlop said: „What disturbs me slightly, ... is the way in which the two leading female protagonists, Kate and Meghan, are taking the way back to the 1950ties, Me-ghan with the mixing bowl and flowers, Kate skipping through cornfields, the sort of verkannt mother, just to make a recovering to be loving and loved. […] I don‘t think that is represantative of the standard woman who get cancer, who is a mother and also has to push on other fronts. I think I want something that spoke to modern women today and neither Meghan nor Kate speak to modern women.“
Under the headline: „Cancer is scary and grim, yet Kate made it look like a pop video“ Camilla Long wrote in the Telegraph:
„There was no real discussion of cancer, no real insight into who they were; nor did it set the tone, crucially, for a shared experience with us. That is crucial. I’d have preferred, myself, to skip straight to the bit where we could simply be delighted that Kate was back looking incredible in black at the Cenotaph.
I don’t blame Kate for any of this, by the way. She’s got three kids; she’s had a draining, desperate year; her husband pays people to get this sort of thing right. But I am not sure they did.
Would love to see your analysis of Meghan Markle. Her use of PR seems to be unnecessary and prolific. It is the first time I actually noticed that perhaps a public figure writes their own PR. It seems there is constant press releases about the silliest things with overuse of words about how "ravishing" and "stunning" she is. She seems to be overly featured in the digital content for People, Marie Claire, Harpers Bazaar, Town and Country, and Hello! but rarely print editions. In fact, I read so much ridiculous content about MM, that I have wondered how much this woman spends to be in the press with so much frequency.
I think William was not in the first video, of course not because he wasn’t supportive, but because he was still out there, the future King, working for his country. I think the palace trusted the public to know he was and will be there for her. He didn’t need to be physically there. Plus, it might have felt awkward with him just sitting there, holding her hand, or even worse, stating obvious platitudes about love, family, and support. Too personal for him, especially knowing how he does not seem to like over sharing private family messages or emotions through the media. We are smart enough to know his stand on the subject! And, having him there could have created the image that both were compromised, and both were unable to fulfill their duties. Two “MIAs” in the already slimmed-down monarchy looks like it’s non-existent, nobody is minding the store, so why do we need it anyway? Plus, when the average family is faced with a health crisis like this, one working member probably can’t completely quit their job to care for the other. And, with the King also suffering a major health setback , William is needed to take over extra responsibilities, and to be seen as committed and dedicated to his position. It was her news, and sharing it alone, to me, made her look brave, but still vulnerable, thus eliciting sympathy and support. Clearly I’m voting “right call”…