In response to recent criticism, the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and Prince William have taken a notable step by altering a key aspect of their public image management.
According to reports, the future king and queen previously shared new photographs with the media before publicly releasing them.
This included pictures of their children to mark their birthdays, shared the night before the big day.
However, following backlash over a Mother’s Day picture in March, the Prince and Princess of Wales have now quietly changed their policy, choosing to release pictures via their social media platforms instead.
Kate Middleton addressed the backlash on social media, apologizing for any confusion caused by the edited family photograph shared on Mother’s Day.
She stated, “I must admit that as an amateur photographer, sometimes I try to do some editing.” “I am sorry for any inconvenience caused by the photo of our family yesterday. All those who are celebrating have a happy mother’s day. C.”
Royal expert Richard Eden explained the previous practice: “The Palace would give photographs to media organizations and newspapers the night before a big occasion, such as a birthday, with an embargo. They’d have the photographs and the details and then release them at a certain time, usually around 11 pm the night before the event.”
Eden further noted, “Since the controversy over the photograph Catherine took and had digitally altered for Mother’s Day, the Palace has changed its approach.
Now, they simply post the photograph on social media the next day. This is significant because previously, agencies that had a policy of not distributing digitally altered photographs would have to raise concerns.”
This change reflects a larger pattern in the way the royal family engages with the public, revealing a more direct and intimate bond through social media.
It also underlines the emerging significance of genuineness and openness in public discourse, especially for high-ranking officials such as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Kate and William’s response to it all makes it clear that they are ready to face up to their critics by changing course, thus showing their determination to sustain people’s trust while being flexible with new norms brought about by technological advancement.
