Talks about reconciliation 2

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I've never started a thread here before, but I thought some people might be interested in this take on the story by a PR podcast I listened to yesterday (started listening to this podcast as I know very little about PR!).

It would be good to know if any of the resident PR people agree.

When It Hits The Fan: A Right Royal Whodunnit

The RF need the support of the public, they need to tread carefully regarding any reconciliation with H&M , look at the backlash they received over the handling of Diana's death (which I actually thought was ridiculous, the Queen was trying to protect the boys not pander to what the public wanted)

Yes, that's why they've grey rocked H&M and not stooped to their level. Very wise.

I think if she’d communicated that better (about protecting the boys), it would have been ok. But she seemed to go into ‘never explain’ mode. Then bloody Blair stepped in and the rest, as they say, is hysteria.

The seeds for reconciliation between KC3 and Harry have been being planted in the press for some time. The Mail and the MoS have over the past few months been making moves to reconcile with Harry - that's what was behind their hires of Bryony Gordon and Charlotte Griffiths. I said this re Bryony earlier this year.

Talk in the industry is that William wants nothing to do with this - it's coming from KC3.

When I said here a few weeks ago that this would happen, a few MN-ers were resistant to the idea on the basis of Harry's bad behaviour and lack of acknowledgement of it. On a real, human basis, they were bang on. But as I tried (badly) to explain, the RF as a public entity operates on the basis of PR and appearance. That's the only way an institution as anachronistic as an RF can survive in 2025, when they no longer lead knights into battle, make laws, or go and clobber the French at Agincourt. What the human beings called Charles, Camilla, William etc are really like, we don't know. What we as a public receive is the carefully constructed image. And the British RF acts essentially as a Jungian archetype of the typical British family in the minds of the public. We can overlay our different and personal struggles on them.

So, viewed through that lens, a reconciliation is, as I said a few weeks back, the only sensible way forward. Harry will be forgiven (or, rather, he will be seen to be forgiven - two different things) because we ALL need forgiveness from our families at some point in our lives. And so we need on some level to see that in the RF, our Jungian familial archetype.

I appreciate this all sounds a bit far-fetched and academic. But it's not. This is how really good, long term strategic PR works - on a deep psychological level (see: Edward Bernays). Celebs never come close to this level. But the RF has been doing it for well over a millennium (I'd say Alfred the Great was the first monarch in the UK who really started to understand and use PR in this way. Other civilisations got there first of course: Pericles and Augustus were MASTERS at PR on this sort of level).

If you can separate the real and the human from the 'seem' and the 'appearance' on which the RF's continued existence relies, then perhaps the rapprochement starts to make more logical sense.

Or maybe it's all a lot simpler and the rumours I'm hearing are true re Harry's parlous mental and physical state, and KC3's just being a concerned dad who loves his son and is desperately worried about him.

I don't expect William to be part of this though. I have never worked anywhere near the RF, but I know two people who have and William will apparently hold a grudge forever like Don Corleone, especially if he thinks his wife and kids have been slighted. He's allegedly one of those people that it's really hard to goad, will stay calm and dispassionate for ages, keeps his court mask on, but push him an inch over his internal demarcated moral line and then that's it - he's done with you, finito, curtains, goodnight Vienna.*

*and you may or may not find yourself sitting in a dog bowl. Probably. Possibly. Perhaps. Look, it's Harry's truth, OK?!?

As usual, excellent analysis and fascinating to read. Thank you. All makes perfect sense.

What do you think is going on with Meghan @GiveMeSpanakopita ? What is the wine and spread all about? The ‘we are in a honeymoon phase’ when clearly they aren’t?

I find it very odd that the couple can't do anything during Wimbledon fortnight, any royals birthdays, trooping of the colour etc. for fear of upsetting the royal family.

But it doesn't, as far as we know, because they don't complain. It's the media and public who have noticed the predictable pattern of H&M bandwagoning off the back of royal events. As far as we know, it's H&M asking the RF to consult them on diary clashes, not the other way round. Which is risible as most major royal appearances are either on a predictable date or signposted in advance. Which is the whole reason why H&M launch their activities on the same day in the first place.

@GiveMeSpanakopita what do think the reconciliation will look like ? Will it be a full on back as a working royal or will it be just surface niceties . Do you think Meghan will feature in any of it ?

Nice to see you @GiveMeSpanakopita and to read your excellent analysis as always.

Surely he can understand that the audience for his Diana cosplaying is dwindling now - she died nearly 30 years ago, lots of people won’t remember her, and many of those who do will find his constant references to her a bit distasteful. Especially since he jumped into bed with Netflix while they were making £££ out of dramatising her mental health difficulties and death for entertainment, and he went on to use clips of the Bashir interview (that William felt should never be seen again) in his own documentary series. And now there’s talk of him making another doc about her. It just looks like horrible exploitation for financial gain. Awful.

I can see Harry gradually seeping in. But Meghan? The rotten tomatoes will be flying. There is too much water under the bridge there.

I’ve seen bullies triumph (in a work context- not directly affecting me, but horrible to observe) due to this “be kind, forgive and forget “ mantra and I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why I feel so strongly about Meghan’s awful behaviour, particularly towards Catherine.

I sincerely hope that most of this press speculation is just that and that Harry and Meghan will be told to go and whistle - or worse, but I’m being delicate here!

Please God NO!

I’d be looking into joining Republic- and I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to say that’s part of the plan - disrupt, destabilise, destroy!😲

Thanks @GiveMeSpanakopita it’s always so interesting to hear your insights and industry gossip. Seems like there’s a way to go for the forgiveness / return of Harry to be a PR win for the RF though, isn’t public opinion still strongly against that idea? Is the plan to try and turn that and Harry’s very low popularity ratings around? Won’t that require an apology from him, or at least an end to whinging and leaking, is he capable of those things? How can it work if William isn’t on board, is this just going to be a private rapprochement between Harry and Charles? So Harry gets to attend Charles’s funeral without a public outcry and then slinks back to California, never to be seen with the RF again? Ooh so many questions!!

I really haven't got anything useful or insightful to add to the conversation about Meghan at the moment, because, shorn now of the false patina of iconoclastic anti-racist rebel which the cultural febrility of 2020 briefly lent her, she's incredibly mid, dull and specious. Her social media presence is stuck in 2014 (and not the best of 2014 either), her raspberry flavoured soup products are mediocre, she's got nothing to say and her public profile is based on shifting sand.

The only interesting thing about Meghan recently is that she's brought to my attention a brilliant social media impersonator called Michael Pavano (he's not my client; I just think he's excellent). Check out his spoof of Meghan's interview with Jamie Kern Lima. It's been a long time since any social media content has made me laugh out loud like he did. He. Is. Spot. on.

@Profhilodisaster I think it'll be light, surface level stuff. Charles will attend Invictus if he's well enough. It's just about within the realms of possibility that William might be persuaded to show up for a few seconds, if Kate gets to work on him nice and early. Harry'll never been fully back in the fold. But there'll be a detente.

I believe that Harry (or rather, his advisers) have finally realised that he as a public figure has ZERO future whilst he's seen to be at Meghan's side. Any form of rehabilitation in the UK will probably have to be Harry alone, at least in the short term.*

Where Meghan fits into the nice reconciliation play I've sketched above, I don't know. It's quite the conundrum. I just can't see her in that happy family tableau. Harry on his own, the British public will swallow and even, eventually, possibly, welcome. H&M? No, too jarring.

I'm sure the Men in Grey and Jason Knauf have a plan for it, though. They're really, REALLY good at this sort of thing.

*I'm talking here about the show of reconciliation, the RF theatre, to be clear. About the state of H&M's marriage I know nothing and care less.

I agree @NormaMajors1992coat , so many questions! Thank you @GiveMeSpanakopita for your insight as always.
If William is opposed to a reconciliation, then will this just be a temporary thing until Charles passes ?

I’m feeling that Charles knows he hasn’t got all that much time and is trying to manage the optics as best he can ( or his aides are) , before a funeral. I really think much of this is about that alone.Its just a gut feeling though. When W is on the throne he won’t be playing ball.

Thanks for your insight @GiveMeSpanakopita however I just cannot see reconciliation beyond very superficial contact between H and KC . I agree with some other posters who think that KC is more ill than we are being told so it’s natural that he wants to be on better terms with his much loved son . But William ? Not a chance !
And then we have Meghan and the DC .
Interesting times ahead.

I'll be honest, I don't understand if this is a PR strategy when one of the players is Harry who is nowhere near the level of not ranting or not criticising the institution. It also doesn't seem to reflect public opinion. I'd go the opposite that the biggest risk to the royal family would be if abuse to Catherine rises (it will if Harry is near her without Meghan) as that is more likely to have the Diana effect on opinions. I also think the abuse of Meghan would rise.

@NormaMajors1992coatwhy would there be a public outcry about a son attending his father’s funeral? I think the general consensus of opinion about the RF in the public domain isn’t the same as that of the handful of posters on this site who are taking the actions of H&M as a personal slight.

I think it's hard to get an accurate read on general public opinion on this issue as Megxit was essentially falsely politicised when it happened (Team H&M - liberal, left-leaning, #bekind crew; Team RF - socially and morally more traditionalist) and so anyone who responds to the polls probably has a heavy existing bias and links their stance with other political convictions they may have.

I honestly suspect that the average person on the street hasn't paid much attention to H&M's antics over the past 5 years and if asked, would probably say something like "Harry? Oh yeah. Seemed like a decent bloke, don't think his wife's been very good for him though, shame he fell out with his brother, that's sad that is. Would be nice if they could reconcile one day I suppose". So the resistance wouldn't be as hugely strong as it is on these threads, say, where we're all a lot more interested.

No big mea culpa set piece interviews or anything, just seep him slowly back in at the edges.

If it were me, I'd also tell him NOT to do any sitdown interviews about his family for at least a year!

Also important to remember that Harry is rapidly fading into the rearview mirror of the RF generational change. William, Kate and their children are seen as the current and future stars. Harry will soon be just another greying uncle with a dodgy past. So I honestly don't think a gentle detente will seem as jarring and new and dramatic to the gen pop as it does to us on this thread.

He'll just be another balding middle aged bloke with a paunch on the very edge of the family photos on the balcony.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. I think the RF needs to be very careful not to appear weak and/or insensitive to public opinion about H+M. They are so, so disliked. I think it might be tricky if Harry starts strutting about like nothing’s happened or if Meghan jumps on the bandwagon and treats the rapprochement as a commercial opportunity. And I fear that both of those things are more likely than not. I think they’ll find it hard to toe any kind of RF PR line to rehabilitate their reputations, even if they want to. They have shown absolutely no ability in this area so far 😬

William might be persuaded to show up for a few seconds, if Kate gets to work on him nice and early.

I really hate this. Catherine must "be kind" towards a man who has tried to destroy her. As ever, she's supposed to hold the key to reconciliation, smoothing things over between brothers, cajoling her unwilling husband, who has set up some healthy boundaries. What's the SS narrative going to be? Abused woman must forgive and help everyone else to forgive, otherwise she's the bitch that broke a family?

Let Charles make his peace with Harry in private, Harry is the monster he created after all. If for nothing else so that Harry doesn't have a meltdown of blame and recriminations about not seeing his father prior to his death which he then uses as a sword against William and Catherine. The Wales family don't need to be part of that. No working royal/half in status for Harry. Private family reconciliation only with those who can stomach it.

As for Invictus, a heartwarming video message from the King, as head of the UK military, to all the competitors, and the formidable Anne/Sophie/Edward in person should be more than enough. Leave William out of it.

None of this will stop once Charles dies. Meghan and her cult will not stop. So there's nothing in it for the Wales family. Best to keep a healthy distance.

Public outcry is too strong - I meant commentary along the lines of - didn’t give a shit about Charles when he was alive, revealed personal stuff about him, let him be labelled a racist, slagged off Camilla, lied about Charles cutting him off financially when he hadn’t, imagined killing him in Spare, made his final years a misery just like he did with QE2 and Philip, now comes swanning back, crocodile tears etc etc blah blah blah.

I’m sure there’s a way to soften public opinion about Harry when it comes to his relationship with his ill father, but I think there’s a chance H+M won’t be able to resist scuppering it, and a risk that Charles will just look weak if they seem to be giving him the runaround.

It’s not just on here that people are negative - social media and comments pages are very one-sided now, and poll ratings tell the same story.

I think Harry greatly overestimates the power of the memory of his mother. A whole generation has been born since her death & so will have missed the “People's Princess” era.

While most of us whose lives did overlap Diana's just wish for her to be allowed to rest in peace. .

Using a dead relative as an image enhancer is not a good look. And Harry's land mine walks risk becoming as repetitive & meaningful as Meghan's dish soap story.