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.

Wills made a big mistake in not taking on the Prince's Trust, one of the few royal charities that makes a serious difference.

He also needs to stop mouthing off about projects he honestly doesn't have any influence over and then never does any further work on eg making peace in the Middle East his lifelong project or solving homelessness.

It just makes him look stupid.

The Earthshot Prize is a good idea but he gets v little out of it in PR terms except flying to an awards dinner and Kate wearing a nice dress. All if which is easily criticized for being environmentally hypocritical.

While The Prince's Trust offers visits to all parts of the UK any day of the week showing the royals as keenly interested in making UK people's lives better.

However he didn't want to do it probably felt like too much work

William is a bit of an unknown quantity. No one seems to know what he really cares about, if anything. He gives the impression of just going through the motions. That needs to change.

@Uricon2 totally agree about the bling. As a family they need a sit down and sorting out fair bling wearing.

They are a family with more diamond jewellery than they know what to do with. It makes them look mean and stingy that Camilla gets pick of everything, Kate next pick all the way down to Sophie who has more than put the hours in who gets barely anything at all. Her wedding tiara was honestly cruel.

If they are all going to an event, all the women should get bling to wear.

Perhaps Sophie doesn’t want to drip with ostentatious jewels? A lot of them look very old fashioned:

Now that People Magazine has revealed that they are in direct email contact with Prince Harry, can we dispense with the whole Sussex "spokesperson" rubbish. You talk to the tabloids, Harry and Meghan, you use them to leak and spin on your behalf. Just own it, and people would have a modicum more respect for you.

archive.ph/ujfwq

Meghan and Harry:

It's a long-term strategy from me and so a hopeless case as they don't seem to be able to manage something like that.

This year: Consolidate all the non-profit Archwell stuff as much as possible, pick a decent manager and let them run it as a foundation managing current donations for chosen charities, fundraising and being generally background supportive for a few specific areas of concern.

Sell up on the West Coast - get away from the shallow drama of Hollywood and move to the East Coast - get a nice private, modest, and easily secured house just outside New York (think Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's set up).

Stop briefing your friends and the media against your family members.

For the next five years, heads down and do something substantial that doesn't require any publicity. Harry - get yourself one of the paid director positions that rich boys get and split your time between that and one volunteer position for a charity that actually requires you to turn up sober on a regular basis and physically do something. Plant trees, clean rivers etc etc.

Meghan - pick one, just ONE cause and go back to university and get a Masters or PHD in it. Social justice, women's rights, internet safety. In your spare time also commit to one charity which requires physically doing something on a regular basis - packing bags for homeless children, or an acting school in an underprivileged area. Do it with NO publicity from your own team.

Quietly and privately spend at least one vacation with Charles in Balmoral every year.

Put the kids in an international school system so that....

In five years time - 2030 - when Archie is ready for secondary school move back to the UK so that Archie and Lilli can get to fully experience their UK heritage.

Use the previous five years of hard work and knowledge gathering to set up something substantial connected to your chosen area.

You will have shown patience, commitment, conciliation and restraint - British public will probably get on board with the new you, Charles will be relieved and I'm sure loosen the purse strings a little again. William may not have forgiven you yet but at least you won't have made him any more mad so might have saved a chance to get your pension from him in later years.

Brilliant!

Absolutely no chance they will do it.

William really showing he wnats the life but without the work as others said he turned down a great opportunity but it meant more work. Just admit it and step away.

They should of allowed a half in half out for spare royals. It was seen as something really positive at the time, earning their own money and not living off taxpayers whilst supporting some royal work as needed. Whats not to like about that and would of been great PR if handled properly.

In a way some of the minor royals do. Was quite stupid to not allow it. I think all spares should have a job and still maintain some royal work.

I think William at some point should of stepped up more whilst the King and Catherine were recovering especially recently consideojf theybar eboth now doing far better...that would of been great PR for him as future King to show him stepping up and doing more of the work instead it just confirms his laziness.

To be fair, Kate does a lot of that wherever she goes. She often wears national colours, emblems, or the colours of the flags.

Red dress and a maple leaf brooch in Canada, gold/yellow dress in Australia, silver fern brooch in New Zealand, white dress with red handbag in Poland etc.

It is sometimes a bit on the nose (you know that bit in the devil wears prada where meryl streep sarcastically says "florals? For spring? Groundbreaking", I sometimes feel like that with her outfits "green? For Ireland? Groundbreaking")

But she does at least do it consistently across countries.

They do need to sort out clarity on half in half out.

There are royals that have been doing it all along but going under the radar as they are front page news eg the Kents

There are royal offspring who have been capitalizing on their connections eg Peter Phillips and his Chinese milk advert, his events business happening to win the contract for the Jubilee

And it isn't unique to the UK royals. Norway and Denmark have aggrieved offspring as well. The batshittery of Martha Louise of Norway makes Harry and Meghan look almost sensible in comparison.

It's the 21st century, you can't keep assuming younger sons will be happy going off to join the navy and then going to a country estate to hunt and fish for the rest of their lives. They need useful work to do without a constant media onslaught.

👏@wordler . Very much agree. They need a low, low profile and to build back up from the ground. Sadly, I don't see this happening.

Neither of them have probably heard of John Profumo, but they should read up. However, he seemed entirely sincere and that helps.

Yes this. Sophie's wedding tiara was a little disappointing (although I'd have it if she decides to charity shop it).

@Uricon2 I had John Profumo in mind for my Andrew PR advice. Disappear for ages and then it slowly comes out you've spent your time doing serious, thankless but definitely useful work without expecting any personal acclamation or reward.

I agree with much of this. Current circumstances aside obviously, the Waleses need to do more and be seen more. The heir to the throne and his consort can't just disappear for 3 months in the summer and another month at Christmas, especially as their children are no longer tiny. It's not like they're working a grueling schedule the rest of the year. Even when 'working', it's what most of us would consider a part time job at most.

Some would say that the traditional 'bread and butter' type of royal appearances, the youth centre in Stoke or the new hospital wing in Dundee, are outdated. I disagree. Even in the social media age, royals need to be seen to be believed. And not just in the south east, not just at the glamorous events, but throughout the country. We all know they have an entire staff to take care of the running of their various charities, so I don't really buy that they're devoting a huge amount of time to that sort of work. They need to be 'aahht and ahbaaat' as William in 'The Windsors' said.

As for George, I'm not sure he'll ever be Prince of Wales. The title is already seen as controversial and by the time George is heir may well have gone by the wayside.

Charles and Camilla are doing a really good job with their PR, I think. There will always be some who can't forgive Charles for Diana but I don't think they have put a foot wrong in some time.

Harry and Meghan - I have absolutely no idea what they are trying to achieve so it's difficult to say how they should achieve it.

William and Kate - a few things come to mind:

William and Kate when she can need to be more active - they have spun out not doing a full workload for long enough.

To me, it's not a good look to make attending Wimbledon a priority for recovering Kate when she clearly loves watching tennis. It would have been better if she had taken say some children suffering from cancer to join her in the royal box.

The causes they have chosen don't seem like great choices. Homelessness and early years are really important but more political/policy areas. It's quite difficult to see how they can make a real impact here without getting into the political space.

Kate would be good on sport participation in schools. I agree with @AnnaMagnani on the Prince's Trust

They clearly quite often brief out about how normal their family life is - lots of puff pieces citing "sources" on how they don't have live in staff and look after their own children. E.g this article: https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/prince-william-princess-kate-raising-kids/

Personally I think they should just stop with that. It makes them look silly. We all know they have a lot of help, only the very gullible think they are living a normal family life, doing their own chores etc. Just stop trying to be relatable would be my advice on that.

There are royal offspring who have been capitalizing on their connections eg Peter Phillips and his Chinese milk advert, his events business happening to win the contract for the Jubilee

But Peter Philips holds no royal titles and receives no public funds. He is part of the royal family but not really 'royal'. What he does is a bit tacky but I'm not sure what really can or should be done about it. It's not 'half in half out' because he, like his sister, has never been 'in'.

Very good advice but they’ll never act on it. They are people who do what they feel like in the moment. No thought of strategy or common sense. Meghan is driven by an overwhelming need for attention. Harry is driven by a sense of grievance and an immature desire for praise.

Yes, totally agree that would be a way forward for Andrew, should he so choose.

Honestly Meghan and Harry should move back to Canada. Canada loves Drake as the only Canadian rapper, they love the Raptors as the only Canadian NBA team - they would love M&H as the only Canadian prince and princess. They could have a great career cutting ribbons and opening hockey games.

Oh but @GorgeousTulips that thing they saddled her with for her wedding made up of reject bits of one of Queen Vic's circlets is horrendous. She's added bits and done her best but it isn't a good tiara.

I think they all need to sparkle a bit on the international stage. What they do in terms of regular work with charities is obviously much more important, but one thing feeds off the other and if the "props" (as I'm sure the late Queen saw them) are right, they reflect attention on the things that really matter.

I agree - it's difficult because there are grey areas but for me the difference is between getting opportunities because your connection to the royal family has simply made you more well known, or deliberately using the connection. Also whether you have any other skills in the area you are being paid for.

And half in half out for me is when you are going to specifically represent the UK and the UK government on engagements, as well as pursuing commercial interests - which doesn't seem to apply to the younger cousins yet.

Zara making money off the horse and racing worlds, or the brands associated with those worlds like Landrover, - yes, she's probably more attractive to some brands because of her royal connection but she's coming at it from a decorated and experienced sports competitor's perspective. ✅

Peter doing that milk advert specifically doing a royal-like skit and being captioned "British Royal Family member Peter Phillips" is definitely abusing his connections. ❌

Eugenie getting the job in an art gallery - like hundreds of posh public school girls before her who know someone whose Daddy owns a gallery. Her position may have helped her get the job but she's not using her title and royal connection to advertise the gallery. And like Beatrice who had a job at a tech company I think she didn't use her title on a day to day basis. Beatrice was listed as simply Beatrice York at the company. They both do charity work but it's not specifically on behalf of the royal family.

Kate and William could learn a lot from Anne.

Anne gets loads of kudos for being a hard working royal but when you look at it there's a lot of sport and horses, the two things she's really interested in.

She also does more than her fair share of opening hospital wards, day centres etc - the stuff that means people actually see you.

Early years is too vague and completely dependent on government funding and policy. But children and sport is a natural fit for Kate - lots of events, events she'd actually enjoy going to, can capture the imagination.

They need to think of something they actually like and then do every single charity associated with that thing like Anne has done in the horse world.

Wales - start being honest. Split up already, you obviously loathe each other. The shampoo ad can’t undo 10 years of disdain for each other at public appearances. William - go to anger management /have some therapy. You obviously have not recovered from the trauma of losing your mother and that is very sad, but you will never be happy until you address it therapeutically. And do some bloody work. You have always been lazy but it has dwindled to almost nothing and you can’t take the palaces and helicopters and vast estates and give nothing in return. Not for long, anyway. Kate - you are also lazy but if you get a nice divorce settlement you can revert to dogs and kids and an aga which is clearly all you really want. Maybe find a nice man who loves you.

I was thinking its Andrew that needs to model Profumo (after he's released from prison?)

Oh yes, he definitely does too and there is more of a comparison with Andrew than H & M. However, selling your family out in the way they have and the number of mistakes they've made also calls for a correction involving going back to basics and actually doing something useful and honest.