Prince Harry on the PR crises at the palace: He gave insights into the system

Whoever is responsible for the communications strategy at Buckingham Palace will probably have a hard time finding a job in the industry again after this week: Rarely has it been possible to observe a PR disaster as clearly in real time as the one surrounding the retouched photo of Princess Kate and her children. Fans of the royal family can’t help but ask: What’s actually going on?

The fact that the British royals’ communication strategy has not been working for a long time became apparent when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan broke with the royal family. At that time, the press was overwhelmed with negative headlines about the dispute between the brothers Harry and William. Instead of opposing it, the PR experts at the palace are said to have encouraged the whole thing – at least that’s what Prince Harry says. In his memoirs “Reserve” he gave insights into the communication system at court.

The press teams at court fight each other

It is known that the infamous “Royal Rota” is occasionally given insider knowledge to a handful of selected British media outlets, including tabloids – in return for positive headlines. But Harry describes in “Reserve” that the focus is not on the image of the royal family itself, but rather that of the highest-ranking members. What you need to know is that communication in London does not come from a single source; instead, each branch of the family has its own press team. And according to Harry, these teams fight each other – even using unfair means if necessary.

The absurd logic behind the strategy: Bad press for some royals increases the popularity of others. There are also egos and power games: Charles was jealous. “What he couldn’t stand was someone new running the monarchy and stealing the spotlight, someone brand new outshining him. And Camilla,” Harry writes. His father also didn’t like it when Kate and William got a lot of attention. “Pa and Camilla didn’t like it when Willy and Kate distracted them and their tasks. They openly reprimanded Willy for it many times,” said Harry.

Prince Harry and Meghan had enough of the lies

He writes about a particularly bad incident: a spin doctor hired by Camilla is said to have even reported to the British press about Williams’ alleged affair. The heir to the throne was incredibly angry about it. However, another story was the turning point for Harry and Meghan, the prince says in the book. Charles and Camilla’s spokespeople are said to have told the press that Meghan made Kate cry during an argument. According to Harry, however, it was exactly the opposite – which Meghan also said months later in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“Who could have planted such a thing? Who could have even leaked it to the press? We thought and thought about it. The list of suspects became infinitesimal,” writes Harry about a meeting between him, Meghan and William after the false headlines. “At one point Willy finally sat back and admitted that he and Kate, er, had dinner with Pa and Camilla (…) and he may have let it slip that there had been trouble between us,” Harry said. “I put my hand in front of my face, Meg paused. Then it was dead quiet. Now we knew. You of all people…you should have known. He nodded. He had known.”

Prince Harry also writes that as children he and William vowed never to let things get to that point between their teams. Apparently they didn’t succeed. The PR debacle surrounding Kate’s illness, in addition to Harry’s stories about the palace’s lies, now leaves one thing in no doubt: the British court can no longer be trusted.