Royal Media Frenzy Lightweights? Prince William and Princess Kate 'Not Used' to Intense Social Media Backlash
Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, are 'not used' to the intense royal and social media scrutiny faced by the likes of Prince Andrew and Harry and Meghan.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, has been in recovery from a major abdominal surgery for over eight weeks. During this time, Her Royal Highness has become "a media sensation for all the wrong reasons" thanks to "bats--- crazy conspiracies" that have made her something of an international pastime on social media, according to a palace insider.
"Is she dead?" "Did Prince William cheat on her?" "Is she wearing a colostomy bag?" Not even a video published on Saturday, March 16, of the future queen walking with her future king near their Adelaide Cottage home can quell the "endless questions" about the royal.
This has led some analysts to compare her recent time in the media to the "worst days of the mid-90s for Princess Diana." After her divorce from then-Prince Charles in 1996, the final year of Diana's life was a whirlwind of non-stop press intrusion and attention — even at the time of her death in a car crash in August 1997.
"One would think the farm shop footage would stop the conspiracy theories, but no, because conspiracy theorists love their theories," acclaimed royal historian Hugo Vickers shared on the recent conspiracies. "Look at [death conspiracies around] Marilyn Monroe and Diana, Princess of Wales — however much evidence you produce, these things are bound to go on."
Others have compared Kate's recent press to the "nonstop bullying" of Meghan Markle "ever since she announced her engagement" to Prince Harry in 2017. One PR analyst feels that when compared to Meghan's "worst press throughout 2023," William and Kate paled in comparison.
"We'll probably never know whether Harry and Meghan got a twinge of pleasure from Kate's blushes," PR executive Jack Izzard dished. "But what they should definitely get out of the Kensington Palace cock-up is a PR opportunity."
On Sunday, March 10, the Princess of Wales released an image of herself surrounded by her three children that led to internet sleuths pointing out "heavily edited" inconsistencies in the pic.
"They’ve failed to navigate the treacherous waters of social media, sticking to traditional tactics," analyst Mark Borkowski stated regarding the image. "The blunt truth is, in the realm of celebrity, privacy is a myth. Even before the recent crisis, [William] has been adamant about keeping royal duties separate from family time. But this 'half in, half out' approach has clearly faltered."
But even royal traditionalists are calling out the next king and queen for "playing to the gallery."
"In the olden days nobody ever talked about the nature of any royal illness, but in this instance [Kate’s situation has] been exacerbated by the fact the king is rather open about his own illness — telling us about cancer and the things we don’t normally talk about," Vickers observed. "It didn’t help that the Waleses have unintentionally contributed to the confusion."
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Page Six reported on the expert opinions.
