Royalty thread #15: A New Era

[Karen-W]

A former royal correspondent for Buzzfeed put together a timeline of the Princess Catherine weird PR and when the online rumours really took off.

It’s a good read.

It’s getting weirder: BuzzFeed News’ former royals reporter on Kate Middleton, Palace PR, and distrust in the media (updated)

"I cannot emphasize enough how out of character it is that a royal press team went on the record in response to what is essentially gossip."

www.niemanlab.org

Great find and fascinating read. I had no idea just how wild the conspiracy theories were or when/where they originated.

 

[canbelto]

Well I read that excellent Buzzfeed article. I do think Kate is probably going through some things (health, personal, whatever) that she doesn't want to talk about and maybe taking longer than expected to resolve.

 

[ballettmaus]

Kate should post a pic of her and the family doing everyday life. Messy hair, grass stains on their knees, arguing over a video game, toys and dirty dishes and books laying about. They are healthy active kids - their lives can’t be that pristine. This perfectly posed super sanititized stuff isn’t terribly interesting, photoshopped or not.

That would likely get a different group of people talking: a royal family doing every day life and looking like everyone else doing it. The horrors

I think families who are in the public eye like royal families are, can't win no matter what they do. Someone will always be upset or feel the need to be outraged, offended or start rumors, especially in times of social media.
I'm so glad I'm not them!

 

[overedge]

Ok in fairness to Kate, her released family photos ARE super casual compared to royal photos in the past. Back in the day, royal children were never shown in casual clothes. Hell, Queen E was actually one of the first monarchs to smile with teeth. Before that it was considered mildly scandalous for a royal to smile with teeth showing. Even Diana was a stickler for the perfectly posed family portrait.

I agree that the current photos are more casual than the more formal portraits in the past, but they still look really out of touch with how most people live. Which IMO is an image problem for a monarchy that is criticized as an increasingly irrelevant taxpayer-funded relic from the past.

Would people feel worse about the Royals, or respect them less, if, say, the kids were photographed with messy hair or with dirt on their clothes or faces from playing? Personally I don't think so.

 

[MacMadame]

Would people feel worse about the Royals, or respect them less, if, say, the kids were photographed with messy hair or with dirt on their clothes or faces from playing? Personally I don't think so.

OMG, the pearl-clutching from certain circles if that happened would never end.

How cool. Can't wait to see them.

I was hoping there were pictures in the article.

 

[ballettmaus]

I was hoping there were pictures in the article.

Me too but I guess there won't be any until the premiere?

 

[airgelaal]

Would people feel worse about the Royals, or respect them less, if, say, the kids were photographed with messy hair or with dirt on their clothes or faces from playing? Personally I don't think so.

Of course they will! I regularly read comments about Charlotte's hair. People insist that she should always have her hair neat and perfect. She just doesn't look like a real princess with her hair down.

 

[Jenny]

I agree that the current photos are more casual than the more formal portraits in the past, but they still look really out of touch with how most people live. Which IMO is an image problem for a monarchy that is criticized as an increasingly irrelevant taxpayer-funded relic from the past.

Would people feel worse about the Royals, or respect them less, if, say, the kids were photographed with messy hair or with dirt on their clothes or faces from playing? Personally I don't think so.

Oh I don't know about that. Many of the younger people I know (25-35ish) present quite the perfect life on their social feeds, including the ones with small children. They hire photographers to do shoots for any number of milestones including a "casual" outdoor shoot to celebrate their engagement that's totally staged, the Hallmark movie-style holiday shoot, the pregnancy shoot, it goes on. Parents document every little inchstone for their kids, beautifully staged with blankies and little chalkboard signs designed for the purpose. Kitchens are pristine, the party decor arranged for the camera, not a snotty nose in sight. You look at the background of even the "look at our child making a mess of their first birthday cake" shot and their homes look like they've been staged by a real estate agent. Might not be exactly real life, but it's what they seem to be striving for - and apparently succeeding at, at least at times.

In contrast, I find Kate's pictures a lot more natural.

 

[airgelaal]

Kate and William's children are already quite old, so I would not be surprised that Kate asks their permission to publish the photo.

 

[canbelto]

OMG, the pearl-clutching from certain circles if that happened would never end.

I remember the first time Charlotte was pictured wearing jeans/jorts in one of the photos. Omg, the pearl-clutching from a certain segment of royal watchers ...

 

[MsZem]

Kate and William's children are already quite old, so I would not be surprised that Kate asks their permission to publish the photo.

She should - they did not choose to be born into royal life, and deserve to have some say in how they are presented to the public. Maybe George and Charlotte don't want to appear all messy just to fit other people's idea of what's natural...

 

[Parsley Sage]

Prince Louis's 2nd birthday pictures

As Prince Louis turns two years old, he shows his support for NHS

As he turns two tomorrow, these pictures show that - just other children across Britain - his parents are keeping him busy by painting rainbows.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Prancer]

I was thinking about this too. Even when they are photographed doing fun activities like baking (https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/kate-middleton-jubilee-cupcakes-cambridge) the kitchen is absolutely spotless and so are they. This is not real life

Many years ago, I read a book about celebrity kids and one of the stories that stuck with me was Kathy Cronkite complaining about the staged family photo spreads, specifically about the ones where they did things like pretend to make cookies while wearing their best clothes in their spotless kitchen--it was just so fake and she couldn't stand it. One of the other celebrity kids chimed in to say yeah, and that was the only time they even came close to baking cookies with their moms. And Kathy Cronkite said, oh, no, she baked with her mom all the time, just not like that, and the other celebrity kids were shocked because none of them had ever actually baked anything with their moms.

That was often true--Kathy Cronkite had a boringly normal life compared to the rest .

But anyway, I think "real life" for some might be a little different than "real life" for the rest of us.

 

[Winnipeg]

I don't think their photos are abnormal at all. I agree with the poster who noted that most non royal, or normal, folks make sure their pics are posed, perfect etc before showing to anyone. Remember family pictures back in the day where everyone went to a professional photographer etc

 

[canbelto]

My least favorite posed photos are the posed engagement photos where it's obviously staged and the woman is cupping her hands to her mouth.

 

[Jenny]

For those perhaps (blissfully) unaware of the lengths younger people go to chronicle their perfect lives:

A Pinterest board dedicated to photo props, including the must-have cozy blankets and scarves for fall shoots

Search Amazon for props for back-to-school shoots (which will no doubt be all over your Facebook account this fall )

More props for your impromptu social shots

A photographer who specializes in this stuff offers best tips for holiday shoots

And don't get me started on the home staging industry

 

[Wyliefan]

The elaborate baby "milestone" photos are the ones that get me. You just know that, about 5 seconds after the photo was taken, all the white satin or tulle or whatever was covered in baby poop, drool, and/or spit-up.

 

[MsZem]

IIRC, the picture of Kate and William with their wedding party in the article below was one of the official pictures released by the BRF at the time:

Where are Prince William and Kate Middleton's young bridesmaids and page boys now?

The royal couple are marking their 11th wedding anniversary this month

www.hellomagazine.com

 

[canbelto]

For those perhaps (blissfully) unaware of the lengths younger people go to chronicle their perfect lives:

A Pinterest board dedicated to photo props, including the must-have cozy blankets and scarves for fall shoots

Search Amazon for props for back-to-school shoots (which will no doubt be all over your Facebook account this fall )

More props for your impromptu social shots

A photographer who specializes in this stuff offers best tips for holiday shoots

And don't get me started on the home staging industry

I have a friend who I went to the beach with a few years ago. Never again. She spent the whole time applying and re-applying makeup so her bf could take a "photoshoot" of her. At one point she asked me if I wanted to apply makeup and I was like "no we're at the beach I'm going in the water." She took it some type of way.

 

[MLIS]

Kate is, in the tradition of mothers everywhere, damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t. For every person preferring more casual, informal, “real” pictures, there are two who would be criticizing the children and their mother if they appear anything less than perfect. Look at the criticism when the children have behaved like, you know, children in public (Louis at the Jubilee events, at the Coronation, etc). Charlotte was photographed sticking her tongue out at reporters and while many laughed and thought it was cute and “real,” many others said horrible things about what a brat she was and how poorly her mother is raising her (the criticism is almost always reserved for the mother in general, not just in Kate’s case). She can’t win, as is true for mothers the world over. I decided a long time ago that I was going to be criticized and questioned for nearly every parenting decision I would make (in a way my husband isn’t, even though we parent together), so all I could do is make the choices I think are right for me and my family and ignore the rest as best I can. Kate has released many beautiful photos of her children, many she took herself in casual, private family settings. If she didn’t release photos on a regular basis she would be criticized for that, and the trade off is if she releases photos regularly the media leaves the children alone when they are not making public appearances (one of the reasons Harry and Meghan left royal life was they didn’t want to feel pressured to regularly release photos of their children). There have been lots of reports over the years of Kate’s kids being sighted playing in parks, wearing jeans, getting dirty. Those are photos I would share in the family group chat, but not release publicly to the world.

 

[canbelto]

Ok so this is ... weird. Today King Charles received the Commonwealth Secretary of Scotland. Pictures of the event were released. I can't help but feel this is passive aggressively digging at Kate.

 

[kwanfan1818]

IIRC, the picture of Kate and William with their wedding party in the article below was one of the official pictures released by the BRF at the time:

Where are Prince William and Kate Middleton's young bridesmaids and page boys now?

The royal couple are marking their 11th wedding anniversary this month

www.hellomagazine.com

There was this famous photo that was the final snap of the group photos at Diana Spencer and Prince Charles' wedding. (I can't find it after several minutes of looking, and I don't have the patience.) It was where the official photos were supposed to be over, and they flopped together in a pile.

I think it was Prince Charles' possibly still or former BIL who took them. He said that there were a series of cameras that were somehow tied to each other driven by his camera, so that if one camera failed, they'd have duplicates. Just before he took the final snap, he disconnected the other cameras, and everyone thought it was over, which is how he got the shot.

It was a very endearing photo.

 

[Vagabond]

Ok so this is ... weird. Today King Charles received the Commonwealth Secretary of Scotland. Pictures of the event were released. I can't help but feel this is passive aggressively digging at Kate.

Oh, for Heaven's sake! He's the King! He isn't beholden to his daughter-in-law.

 

[MacMadame]

Me too but I guess there won't be any until the premiere?

Makes sense.

Ok so this is ... weird. Today King Charles received the Commonwealth Secretary of Scotland. Pictures of the event were released. I can't help but feel this is passive aggressively digging at Kate.

Yes, he went back to work only to get a dig in at Kate. It has nothing to do with being the King of England!

 

[Karen-W]

Ok so this is ... weird. Today King Charles received the Commonwealth Secretary of Scotland. Pictures of the event were released. I can't help but feel this is passive aggressively digging at Kate.

So, what was it about last Friday when he received the new Jamaican Ambassador or a week ago when he received the new Ambassadors from Algeria and Mauritania in person?

 

[Parsley Sage]

Ok so this is ... weird. Today King Charles received the Commonwealth Secretary of Scotland. Pictures of the event were released. I can't help but feel this is passive aggressively digging at Kate.

Why? When his cancer diagnosis was announced it was said that the King would be continuing with his constitutional duties and there have been pictures posted of him meeting with the Prime Minister, receiving credentials from Ambassadors and a Zoom call with the Canadian Prime Minister. He's just not performing public facing duties.

And she's Baroness Scotland, The Commonwealth Secretary. Scotland is her name, not where she is from.

 

[puglover]

William and Kate appear to have ruffled some feathers by choosing to do things their way and exercise more control, and not just regards to their photographs. Richard Kay, Daily Mail Royal Journalist and apparently the last person Princess Diana called before her death, has referred to them as "stubborn". It seems conceivable to me that some would like them to be taught a lesson. Every picture Catherine takes is presumably one less for a royal photographer. People get stuck in their established ways and sometimes a new approach is not entirely welcome (and I do really like Richard Kay).

 

[Parsley Sage]

There was this famous photo that was the final snap of the group photos at Diana Spencer and Prince Charles' wedding. (I can't find it after several minutes of looking, and I don't have the patience.) It was where the official photos were supposed to be over, and they flopped together in a pile.

I think it was Prince Charles' possibly still or former BIL who took them. He said that there were a series of cameras that were somehow tied to each other driven by his camera, so that if one camera failed, they'd have duplicates. Just before he took the final snap, he disconnected the other cameras, and everyone thought it was over, which is how he got the shot.

It was a very endearing photo.

I remember the picture from C&D's wedding. It might have been Earl Snowdon, Princess Margaret's ex husband who took the photos.

 

[MsZem]

There was this famous photo that was the final snap of the group photos at Diana Spencer and Prince Charles' wedding. (I can't find it after several minutes of looking, and I don't have the patience.) It was where the official photos were supposed to be over, and they flopped together in a pile.

Is it this picture?

 

[kwanfan1818]

Yes!

ETA: Prince Edward looks so young in that photo.