Royalty thread #15: A New Era

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WTF is happening in the US right now? Came here as its BRF related but some things I watch or see online that I don't follow for news about royals, like Stephen Colbert for instance, are really going in hard on rumours of affairs, domestic abuse etc...
I get the British press and their over the top Royal coverage but it really seems to be hitting some very mainstream US media and some people with actual jobs (like lawyers) opining about domestic abuse and affairs.

Of course I expect Colbert to make fun of the latest news in his nightly monologue but how do we go from making fun of photoshopped images and jokes about "where is Kate" to naming a woman that actually exists and has a life as a rumoured mistress? Just seems very reckless callous behaviour and I say that as a big longtime fan of Colbert. How does something like that make it past the legal department? Online trolls are one thing but it isn't just Colbert. :eek:
 
There is a horrible rumour out there claiming the death of Tom Kingston, husband to Lady Gabriella Windsor ( 2nd cousin to King Charles) by suicide is the result of an affair with Catherine and that is why she is not showing her face. Although he dated Pippa Middleton briefly a long time ago, I think 2013, and both later married, his widow seems to be secondary in the newspaper articles about his death because he once dated a Middleton.

This is supposed to be revenge by Catherine for an alleged long time ago affair between Rose Hanbury and Prince William. Rose and her children have continued to be involved with William and Catherine regardless of the claims they were dropped from all social parties.

Shame on Colbert!!
 
puglover said:
There is a horrible rumour out there claiming the death of Tom Kingston, husband to Lady Gabriella Windsor ( 2nd cousin to King Charles) by suicide is the result of an affair with Catherine and that is why she is not showing her face. Although he dated Pippa Middleton briefly a long time ago, I think 2013, and both later married, his widow seems to be secondary in the newspaper articles about his death because he once dated a Middleton.

This is supposed to be revenge by Catherine for an alleged long time ago affair between Rose Hanbury and Prince William. Rose and her children have continued to be involved with William and Catherine regardless of the claims they were dropped from all social parties.

Shame on Colbert!!
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Scroll down to the American "comes the revolution" version with Bernie Sanders.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Kate Middleton's photoshop fail sparks frenzy of internet memes

Amateur photo editors have now seized the chance to create their own altered versions of the Princess of Wales' snap.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
 
Someone photoshopped Kate's face onto that famous picture of Bernie Sanders at Biden's inauguration. Makes no sense but it's funny.
 
Some of it actually is quite funny! I guess I was thinking of the one I saw with Bernie Sanders and his mittens holding the children, as well as the ones with random children laughing uproariously.
 
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I’m more inclined to think that Kate knew she was going to be out of commission for awhile due to her surgery so took the opportunity to have some cosmetic surgery on her face hence not wanting to show her face publicly until the swelling subsides.

No judgement from me. It’s her face and she’s a grown adult if she wants a little nip and tuck, go for it.
 
I think the Prince and Princess of Wales need to hire a crisis management firm stat. It is clear the current team doesn't seem to have a coherent strategy. They may have to think outside the royal box to regain control of the narrative.

This is the biggest crisis of their royal career as a couple. They deserve the best advice they can get. I mentioned before that William is probably emotionally exhausted. I bet Catherine and the kids are, too. I hope they get some relief soon.
 
puglover said:
There is a horrible rumour out there claiming the death of Tom Kingston, husband to Lady Gabriella Windsor ( 2nd cousin to King Charles) by suicide is the result of an affair with Catherine
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What a despicable thing to gossip about. His poor family.
 
He has been appearing in public. I don't see that much of a change unless he is going to make a statement or something. Also no surprise Harry and William will honour their mother's death separately.
 
At this point, when the 68 million people population of British Isles and let's suppose another 75 million people world wide (that's a low number) want to know what is wrong and the popularity/love for Catherine is declining, KP publicists better figure out how to fix their errors in judgement darn fast.

Maybe W/K thought that would escape the wrath of the public because media were still rabidly running after M/H. Who knows? But it's not going to stop with poorly photo shopped photos. Or grainy pictures of Catherine in car being driven around the Palace grounds.

Camilla and Meagan can tell Catherine what it is like once the public and press turn against you.

I'm one who believes that Catherine should be able to keep medical data to herself but once you've started down the road of trying to fool the public - probably the better route would be to share some. It may be a big boost to positive PR and whatever issue (GI or GYN procedures) could be a positive for women everywhere. Like Colon resection/colostomy bag or A/P repair and urinary catheter for months or whatever garners public education/awareness.

Look at all the speculations here, and I'm pretty sure it's worse "out there".

I'm thinking back to Betty Ford - and she was in no way popular First Lady. How scary and public wrath invoking because she hid Breast Cancer and Drug/Alcohol Addiction.
 
once_upon said:
At this point, when the 68 million people population of British Isles and let's suppose another 75 million people world wide (that's a low number) want to know what is wrong and the popularity/love for Catherine is declining, KP publicists better figure out how to fix their errors in judgement darn fast.

Maybe W/K thought that would escape the wrath of the public because media were still rabidly running after M/H. Who knows? But it's not going to stop with poorly photo shopped photos. Or grainy pictures of Catherine in car being driven around the Palace grounds.

Camilla and Meagan can tell Catherine what it is like once the public and press turn against you.

I'm one who believes that Catherine should be able to keep medical data to herself but once you've started down the road of trying to fool the public - probably the better route would be to share some. It may be a big boost to positive PR and whatever issue (GI or GYN procedures) could be a positive for women everywhere. Like Colon resection/colostomy bag or A/P repair and urinary catheter for months or whatever garners public education/awareness.

Look at all the speculations here, and I'm pretty sure it's worse "out there".

I'm thinking back to Betty Ford - and she was in no way popular First Lady. How scary and public wrath invoking because she hid Breast Cancer and Drug/Alcohol Addiction.
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Betty Ford may have hid her alcohol and painkiller abuse until she entered treatment in 1978 after Gerald Ford's Presidential term, but her surgery for breast cancer occurred in 1974 during his term and she was quite public at the time about it.
 
Oh my Lord... There is no reason for the Wales' to hire a crisis comms management team. This is a bump and will fade away once Catherine is back at work. So much of this is being driven by the fringe lunatic conspiracy theorists on social media and fueled by a vindictive press pack who have their noses bent out of joint that the Wales' don't do photo calls like it has been done for decades (and is still done by the Dutch RF from time to time).

This is not going to destroy their popularity in the long term and I'd strongly encourage all the NA-based posters here to seek out the thoughts and opinions of people in the UK over this. My take is that it's mostly just a tempest in a teapot. The memes are funny the way the McKayla Maroney memes were funny a dozen years ago when she had her stank face moment at the London Olympics. Hopefully William & Catherine are having a good chuckle at some of them and will take it in their stride the way Maroney did.
 
I think I agree with @Karen-W on this, and here's why. They said from the beginning that she would be back after Easter (which is now in just two weeks) and that there would be no further medical updates. I think they should probably stick to this plan, as they outlined it in the first place.

If they don't, they are bowing to public pressure, setting a precedent for every time the tabloids or socials or anyone else gets up in arms, they'll respond. Can you imagine? Total loss of control over their narrative and their private lives.

Further, the more I see evidence that a large portion of the flurry on social media is originating from and being spread by nefarious sources, I think it's perhaps more important than ever to stand your ground.

I'm also supertired of all the interviews and quotes with so-called royal watchers, royal experts, PR experts and the ones whose "expertise" is apparently based on them writing some unsourced book through a niche publisher that few people read in the first place. A couple of times I've taken the time to look up the people being quoted, and IMO they almost always have zero credibility or actual access that can provide context. It's just their opinions, no different than the rest of us.

And while I'm ranting, I just read a research report that said "46% of young people [Gen Z] say they pay no attention or very little attention to the source of news."
:eek:
 
Karen-W said:
Oh my Lord... There is no reason for the Wales' to hire a crisis comms management team. This is a bump and will fade away once Catherine is back at work.
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They do need some advice from a PR group. My opinion has always been leave the Wales' alone. Catherine is entitled to privacy

What they have done is try (poorly) answer the rabid press issues by doing silly PR mistakes. Stupid mistakes at that.

Once you start apologizing for clumsy mistakes, the hole gets bigger and bigger.

I'd say this about any PR blunder. Hire someone who can advise you on the best ways to address the mistakes.
 
once_upon said:
At this point, when the 68 million people population of British Isles and let's suppose another 75 million people world wide (that's a low number) want to know what is wrong and the popularity/love for Catherine is declining, KP publicists better figure out how to fix their errors in judgement darn fast.
Click to expand...
It is?

ca.news.yahoo.com

Kate is nation’s favourite royal as Harry and Meghan's popularity slides, new poll shows

Ipsos survey for The Standard found 38% of Britons naming the Princess of Wales as the Royal they like the most
ca.news.yahoo.com ca.news.yahoo.com
 
once_upon said:
They do need some advice from a PR group. My opinion has always been leave the Wales' alone. Catherine is entitled to privacy

What they have done is try (poorly) answer the rabid press issues by doing silly PR mistakes. Stupid mistakes at that.

Once you start apologizing for clumsy mistakes, the hole gets bigger and bigger.

I'd say this about any PR blunder. Hire someone who can advise you on the best ways to address the mistakes.
Click to expand...

Agree, and I think any PR person worth their salt would advise them to stick to their own messaging and stated timelines, as they are doing. The poll shared by @MsZem is very interesting - it's noted that the polling was before the Mother's Day image came out, but given the consistency with her ratings a year ago, my bet is those who support her are continuing to support her regardless. Might even help her popularity numbers as people rally behind her.

I do think apologizing for photoshopping was a mistake - the apology part. I think she could have just left it at "yes I touched it up a bit, as any amateur photographer might do."
 
MsZem said:
It is?

ca.news.yahoo.com

Kate is nation’s favourite royal as Harry and Meghan's popularity slides, new poll shows

Ipsos survey for The Standard found 38% of Britons naming the Princess of Wales as the Royal they like the most
ca.news.yahoo.com ca.news.yahoo.com
Click to expand...
The poll does say it was taken before the recent photo issue.

@Jenny I agree about the Easter timeline. I thought it was ill advised that KP had/is trying to provide evidence that Catherine is ok.

Keep with the timeline given at the first PR release. End of press releases.

If an update is needed, something along the lines of - the Princess' recovery is proceeding as expected.

Or if there has been delays in progress, something along the lines of: the Princess recovery is taking longer than expected, her doctors are pleased with her progress.

The Prince' absence at his Godfather's funeral-William has spoken with the family. The family is in agreement that Willian's first priority is his family.

End of press releases.

ETA - @Jenny I just read your second response.

Anyway, as I've said I have no pony in the race. Just observing conspiracy theories, PR blunders. Jenny is correct a large portion of the world reads social media as truth. The social media sites you frequent tells you the slant you have.
 
Karen-W said:
Oh my Lord... There is no reason for the Wales' to hire a crisis comms management team. This is a bump and will fade away once Catherine is back at work. So much of this is being driven by the fringe lunatic conspiracy theorists on social media and fueled by a vindictive press pack who have their noses bent out of joint that the Wales' don't do photo calls like it has been done for decades (and is still done by the Dutch RF from time to time).
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I totally agree. Quite frankly, the whole thing is stupid. She had surgery, she's recuperating, and she'll get back to work after Easter. End of story.

Jenny said:
Further, the more I see evidence that a large portion of the flurry on social media is originating from and being spread by nefarious sources, I think it's perhaps more important than ever to stand your ground.
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Many of the conspiracy theories were first started on pro-Meghan and Harry websites. Not anything H&M control but ones run by rabid fans similar to the Sekret Baby blog. That should be enough for most of us to just stop it. Don't feed those trolls!

Barbara Manatee said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Katherine's popularity went up a bit. It's in no way an unbiased sample, but the majority of comments on almost every news report I've seen are very much on her side.
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I think it will too. I don't think much about her normally and my opinion was that she seems like a nice young woman and a good mother but that's about as far as it went. But at this point, I want to fly to England to teach her how to use Photoshop and give her a big hug! :lol:
 
Jenny said:
Agree, and I think any PR person worth their salt would advise them to stick to their own messaging and stated timelines, as they are doing. The poll shared by @MsZem is very interesting - it's noted that the polling was before the Mother's Day image came out, but given the consistency with her ratings a year ago, my bet is those who support her are continuing to support her regardless. Might even help her popularity numbers as people rally behind her.

I do think apologizing for photoshopping was a mistake - the apology part. I think she could have just left it at "yes I touched it up a bit, as any amateur photographer might do."
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Kate never actually admitted to touching up the photo in question.

Her statement said she edits photos from time to time as amateur photographers do.

I agree it was a mistake and she shouldn’t put out an apology-like statement for something she most likely didn’t do. (I’ll never be convinced she had anything to do with that photo.)
 
Jenny said:
I think I agree with @Karen-W on this, and here's why. They said from the beginning that she would be back after Easter (which is now in just two weeks) and that there would be no further medical updates. I think they should probably stick to this plan, as they outlined it in the first place.

If they don't, they are bowing to public pressure, setting a precedent for every time the tabloids or socials or anyone else gets up in arms, they'll respond. Can you imagine? Total loss of control over their narrative and their private lives.

Further, the more I see evidence that a large portion of the flurry on social media is originating from and being spread by nefarious sources, I think it's perhaps more important than ever to stand your ground.
Click to expand...

This. It's already crazy as hell with all of the media we're seeing now. It would be like a Battle Royale or a last-man-standing to be the first to get the news (and gossip) to the media.
 
skategal said:
I think it’s more than the press being pissy when you have AFP (the largest and original press agency in the world) saying KP is no longer trusted source.

www.newsweek.com

Kate Middleton photo crisis just got bigger

Kensington Palace is no longer a "trusted source," according to the global director of one of the world's largest news agencies.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com
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Ironic that an article discussing the need to be skeptical of sources uses Omid Scobie as their royal expert. You could not make this stuff up.
 
He’s referred to in the article as a royal biographer not a royal expert.

And he says his book Endgame is validated by KP being proclaimed as an untrustworthy source.

I haven’t read the book so can’t comment to the accuracy of that statement beyond saying it is only his opinion stated in the article.
Barbara Manatee said:
Ironic that an article discussing the need to be skeptical of sources uses Omid Scobie as their royal expert. You could not make this stuff up.
Click to expand...
 
skategal said:
I think it’s more than the press being pissy when you have AFP (the largest and original press agency in the world) saying KP is no longer trusted source.

www.newsweek.com

Kate Middleton photo crisis just got bigger

Kensington Palace is no longer a "trusted source," according to the global director of one of the world's largest news agencies.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com
Click to expand...
I'd love to see AFP actually back this up by not running anything released by KP in the future. Doubt they'll do it, as they're desperate for the clicks.
 
What's that they say about no such thing as bad publicity.
American Riviera Orchard (whatever that means) recognised opportunity when it came knocking :rofl:
 
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