The Burden of the Royal Family’s Reputation Lies With William and Kate, Says Expert

PR consultant says next generation must define monarchy’s future.

Scandals involving the monarchy rarely stay contained or have a shelf life, especially when they are about a senior royal family member being involved with an offender like Jeffrey Epstein; they tend to cast a shadow far beyond the individual at the heart of them. And as the fire intensifies, the focus is shifting to the next generation and how it intends to steady the institution. 

One crisis management expert believes that the task will ultimately fall to Prince William and Kate Middleton, who are expected to chart a path that restores confidence in the Crown. And in the wake of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's blunders, a controversy that intensified over the years and culminated in his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, questions about the monarchy’s standing have increased threefold. For William and Middleton, viewed as the future of the Crown, the challenge may not be simply one of continuity but to undo the rot that has set in from the beginning.

Public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski argues that the couple faces a defining test, The Independent reported. A simple pressing dilemma that is at its core is “How do they establish the integrity of the royal family?”

Framing the issue as general as well as institutional, he said, “Really, what do William and Kate do? What do their generation do with the crown, with all its soft power, its affairs of state? It's beginning to feel a little bit like a European monarchy.” Borkowski also said, “The pressure on William to communicate what the royal family is going to be over the next 50 years falls squarely on his shoulders.” He added, “The heavy weight of this burden on the royal family’s reputation lies with William and Kate and what they’re going to do.”

Tom Sykes, in an opinion piece for The Daily Beast, had similar opinions—though he pushed the argument further. “We’re in the midst of the biggest royal crisis since the abdication of 1936—and Prince William should have the chance to use it to completely restructure the monarchy,” he wrote.

He suggests that “there’s a real possibility that King Charles knew about his brother’s associations with Jeffrey Epstein. That will leave prosecutors in a very uncomfortable position.” Against that backdrop, Sykes contends that the monarchy may require a decisive reset—one that could involve Charles stepping aside to allow William to take the reins and reshape the institution before further reputational damage takes hold.