Backseat PR drivers: Just for fun how would you manage the Royal PR?

[wordler]

Light-hearted or serious suggestions - let's get all those bright ideas from us backseat drivers on the royal and ex royal communications output / and or what to do to improve their public images going forward. Or what not to do.

Pick a team or do them all:

Charles and Camilla

The Wales Fam

Harry and Meghan

The best of the rest - Edinburghs, Anne's clan

For the brave among you - The Yorks

Republicans, play along with your worst suggestions that you hope they will do to bring down the monarchy.

@BustingBaoBun @exprecis - it's not really about the children though is it, it's about how H&M end up exploiting their children

There is a long Royal tradition of using kids as props, William and Harry had to walk behind their mothers coffin to protect Charles from boos and anger from the crowds, William did a piece to camera with Charlotte when coming under criticism for not turning up to the women’s World Cup. Diana tipped off press she’d be out with the boys when they were young to give the impression she was the better, more fun parent. The late queen insist on the Wales kids being at events they were clearly too young to sit through for the image of continuity (Louis’ behaviour was just that of a bored child that should have not been dragged along).

Every formal /official event that the three young wales kids are at is them being exploited by the family for good press/ reinforce continuity. George is the eldest and only 11, just started year 7, I shouldn’t know what he looks like. I do hope the next generation stops using the kids as props.

I find the way the Wales use the kids is just as bad, if not worse than the Sussexes. (And yes, there will be claims we need to prepare George for being a future king, that can happen when he’s 18 and decided this is something he wants.)

William and Harry had to walk behind their mothers coffin to protect Charles from boos and anger from the crowds

Ok, where did you get that from? They could have all gone in the cars, no-one would have booed at the hearse, would they? The family had a tradition of males walking behind the coffin and the boys took part in that tradition. It is very old fashioned now, but was nothing to do with protecting Charles.

I have actually been present when Charles was booed by the crowd. Bunch of eejits outside York Minster. He was completely unphased by it, waved and departed in his car. No biggie.

Seem to remember reading that it was Blair’s idea for them to walk behind the coffin.

I seem to recall it was Alistair Campbell’s suggestion and Blair spoke to The Queen who apparently wasn’t keen . The boys weren’t forced .,

Yes, apparently Tony Blair did come up with the plan.

Philip was against it but Charles agreed and then the boys were forced into it. Harry was a bit young to understand but William was old enough to know he was being used to prop up his dad annf grandmother, I’ve always felt sorry for William for that. Charles was so weak to put what was best for him ahead what was best for his children.

Sorry, forced is the wrong word - strongly pressured and told by their family this was the right thing to do. They should have been protected, not used to protect others.

So it wasn’t even their idea and you blame the RF.

It was also Blair who insisted The Queen return to London . She and PP wanted the boys to stay at Balmoral until nearer the funeral . There were some horrible articles at the time suggesting that they didn’t want to interrupt their holiday when all they were doing was protect the children . Balmoral is an ideal place for that .,

I agree.

Driving around LA with a reporter in the car and getting your bodyguard to hand out backpacks with snacks in them to homeless people to teach your son about giving is so much better.

And it was the food bank themselves that publicised it. Because it then ensured they got even more donations. Because that's how positive PR works. It draws attention to the cause itself.

OMG @MrsFinkelstein that was so cringeworthy 🤦‍♀️

Wasn’t their idea- they still did it. Charles (and the late Queen) still put what was best for the firm above what was best for the boys.

Blair was thinking as a cynical politician who didn’t want to have to deal with the crisis caused by the public turning against the Queen. His priority was the public relations, not William and Harry’s mental health. But their dad should have been prioritising his son’s mental health.

it does seem from the stories that came out about that time, Philip was the only one who wanted to focus on what was best for the boys.

so yep, fits this thread - it was great PR crisis management. But terrible parenting .

Guess as a public we should be wary of encouraging good PR over good for the health of those inside the family.

There is a long Royal tradition of using kids as props, William and Harry had to walk behind their mothers coffin to protect Charles from boos and anger from the crowds

Wrong as pp have explained. Prince Philip said to the boys once it was suggested to them that he would accompany them if they decided to do it, they were not forced, Prince Philip did the same when he was a child for his family so he would have understood.

Every formal /official event that the three young wales kids are at is them being exploited by the family for good press/ reinforce continuity. George is the eldest and only 11, just started year 7, I shouldn’t know what he looks like. I do hope the next generation stops using the kids as props.

They are the royal family, the clue is in the name, they are not being “exploited” as you put it, or used as “props” William and Kate are doing the right thing introducing their children to public life slowly and and at selected events only so they get used to the crowds, media and attention in a controlled manner, how ridiculous would it be for George to have no experience of what lies ahead and then be thrust into the spotlight or even be crowned King without ever having experienced any form of Royal life, now that would be bad parenting.

the way the Wales use the kids is just as bad, if not worse than the Sussexes. (And yes, there will be claims we need to prepare George for being a future king, that can happen when he’s 18 and decided this is something he wants.)

Yeah because that would really give the so called republicans yet another stick to beat the Wales with, a King in waiting no one has ever seen yet we are paying for his live of luxury blah blah blah 🙄, he can still decide at 18 if he wants to be King or not, he can abdicate if he so wishes.

The late queen insist on the Wales kids being at events they were clearly too young to sit through for the image of continuity (Louis’ behaviour was just that of a bored child that should have not been dragged along).

And you know this how? Where are these reports from the Palace or the Wales that the Queen insisted on this or are you making things up to suit your narrative?

My advice for the wales kids and W&C- follow the example of the king and Queen of Spain and how they have raised their two daughters. Princess Leonor who will one day be queen.

So from 12, George should start attending certain public events with his father. Just those two. Nothing required of George though, he’s just there supporting his father and watching what he does. Maybe twice a year?

Then at age 14 he should have a little more involvement, maybe say something (princess leonor gave a very impressive speech at 14) and attend more events.

Often, when the king and queen of Spain attend events with the two girls, the queen stands with the youngest daughter while princess Leonor stands with her father. I think this is what Kates role should be- stand and support Charlotte and Louis and show what supporting the monarch means. While William and George are on stage etc. There needs to be a clear delineation between the children and what their future roles will be. By 18 George should be undertaking functions on his own.

This is where I think things went dramatically wrong for William and Harry.

They were brought brought up together, when Williams guidance and training should have started much much earlier. This is also what lead Harry to believe he was more important than he is and how he became a third wheel to William and Catherine in the end.
The other problem was, Charles never took William under his wing to show the ropes, and as Diana and Charles were separated, she wasnt there standing by Harry’s side supporting the future heirs.
With their mother dying, I understand the palace wanted to protect William and Harry but what happened was neither of them really started public duties until they were 30!
This was far too late for William. He should have been given a more prominent role much earlier and this would have kept Harry in check. But that only came way too late down the line once he married meghan and then realised, that he wasn’t important after all.

So William guiding George and Kate guiding Charlotte and Louis. Training for George much earlier, following a path similar to Princess Leonor.

I think the King and Queen of Spain are relatively close to the BRF so I do think they will be a big influence.

They should have been protected

And that’s what the Queen tried to do, protect them at Balmoral but that was wrong as is everything they do in some peoples eyes, the baying media and crowds forced the Queen and family to return to London, I remember at the time how awful it was the pressure the Queen was under.

The RF must be utterly terrified somebody is going to take a pop shot at them.

Charles and Cam looked like they were in an end of term pantomine at the Coronation. I'm not sure why but I found it faintly embarassing.

Sidestepping the last few pages of distasteful offtopic arguing, and getting back to the PR question, I think the starting point with regard to the Sussexes and their relation to the royal family has to be the damage already done. No PR strategy can operate from a position of wishful thinking. You have to start from the current position. For the royal family, the current position is that the reputational damage has already been done. Does bringing the Sussexes back as working royals change that? No. Does it bring fresh risks? Yes. So what is the advantage to the royal family of bringing them back? I don’t see it. That ship has sailed. Leave them to it. Even if private family relations can be improved, I do not see that there is a net gain in bringing them back as working royals.

In terms of the workforce, I see a lot of discussion about how they won’t have enough people in the coming years. But - I think someone above already said this - the amount of work available expands to fill the number of bodies available. So it can contract as well. I don’t regard this as a meaningful constraint, for PR purposes. What matters is impact. For that you need visibility. So I agree with those who say William in particular needs to be seen doing public events much more regularly - playing a role in the life of the nation. I think there is a risk of the Waleses spreading themselves too thinly. I suspect they have already carried out a review of patronages and ditched some lower impact ones but if not, they should do this. Pick a core theme each and focus on organisations relevant to that. Etc. It’s not rocket science. I have a suspicion that part of the reason they haven’t been so visible in recent years is that they have been setting up their own projects rather than helping existing organisations. That inevitably takes a lot of time behind the scenes. Perhaps if their respective initiatives are now properly underway they will become more visible as they mature.

Totally agree with the previous comments re Andrew - ditch the big house, go totally under the radar, do some proper grassroots charity work. I’d suggest working in a homeless men’s hostel or perhaps teaching in prison (James Timpson could help him find something). Obviously needs to be away from vulnerable women!

Agree Camilla, Sophie and Edward are killing it.

That interview was hilarious 😂

I really wish more people would recognise this fact. To have kept the boys in Scotland away from preying eyes for as long as possible would have been a kindness

William has been working on his own projects, as well as existing patronages.

Wednesday he was in Wales - visited several schools, he also visited and promoted the Air Ambulance Service. He attended a Welsh rugby event honouring female players.

Friday he was at RAF Cranwell for the passing out parade.

Over the last 3 weeks he's done several events for Earthshot and Homewards.

Maybe I'm just noticing it more, but it certainly seems like he's been out and about.

What they should have done was issue a statement saying what a shock it had been and how everyone was struggling to come to terms with it. Please understand we will be staying in Balmoral to give the family some private time, blah blah. It was handled really badly. There is no way the boys should have been seen out in public or have walked behind the coffin. They should have been shielded at the funeral. It was beyond inhumane .

@GorgeousTulips Yes, it's hard to understand why they didn't do that. I remember that time so I know that our culture has changed enormously since 1997 but your suggestion of how they should have handled it just seems like common sense.