Forty-somethings William and Catherine were supposed to usher in the age of millennial understanding to the British royal household.
Both became adults in the digital era. They may not post tweets or publish to Instagram themselves, but they have someone who does that for them. Both have smartphones with BBC news push alerts activated.
The first official photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery in January sparked much speculation.Credit: Instagram
William’s late grandmother was well known for her royal dictum: “We have to be seen to be believed.”
This makes the past few days, weeks even, all the more baffling. And perhaps it has proven once and for all that the days of sweetheart deals between Buckingham Palace and the mainstream media are almost next to useless.
Since Catherine disappeared from public view after Christmas and began her lengthy recovery from what we have been told was “planned abdominal surgery”, mad-hat conspiracy theories have formed in the darkest corners of the web. And slowly but surely penetrated social media via TikTok, Instagram and X.
If this couple doesn’t get the rules of new media, what hope does the royal family have?Credit: Getty
And so when media companies around the world rejected an intimate family portrait (released to reassure the public that things are OK) as “digitally altered” or manipulated, it was like throwing petrol on the flames.
The aim of the royals and their minders at Kensington Palace was to stick to the plan - Catherine rests until Easter and then resumes duties. But by reacting to the loons and fringe base of rabble-rousers, it has morphed into the media and public joining forces on conspiracy theories.
The first suggestion regarding the edited photo was that it was taken on a Google Pixel 8 phone, which automatically selects and merges the most flattering pictures. This has moved on to wilder claims that Catherine’s head was supplanted onto someone else’s body.
William and Kate have badly misjudged their target audience
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12.03.2024
Forty-somethings William and Catherine were supposed to usher in the age of millennial understanding to the British royal household.
Both became adults in the digital era. They may not post tweets or publish to Instagram themselves, but they have someone who does that for them. Both have smartphones with BBC news push alerts activated.
The first official photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery in January sparked much speculation.Credit: Instagram
William’s late........
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