The criticism for that attitude was the incentive for the family of the Queen isabel II review your communication and try to turn the page on a decade marked by divorces, disputes and various scandals.
A quarter of a century later, the family is more reactive and present in the social networks and has been able to organize large popular events, such as the platinum jubilee of Elizabeth II in June, for her 70 years on the throne.
But those efforts have been torpedoed by recent controversies, such as the links of the prince andrew (third son of the queen) with the American pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and accusations of racism in the Buckingham Palace made by him prince henry and his wife Meghan Markle.
“Diana’s death was a whirlwind that forced the monarchy to reorient its image, to adopt a more modern and expressive profile to please the public,” historian Ed Owens told AFP.
The specialist sees, however, some dangers in Enrique’s estrangement from his father Carlos (heir to the throne) and his brother William (second in the line of succession), as well as in the management of the Prince Andrew case. Therefore, he predicts “hard times” for the crown.
A new face for the British monarchy
After Lady Di’s death, Buckingham Palace hired a larger number of public relations experts.
Robert Hardman, author of “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II,” explains that the monarchy undertook a measured “evolution”, in an era marked by the intensification of continuous information and the emergence of social networks. “It changes slowly, imperceptibly, but steadily and not without reason,” she notes.
The idea was to show a more “human” image of Queen Elizabeth II, who sometimes seemed more concerned with her dogs and horses than with her subjects.
The image of Prince Charles, who was criticized for his stretching and arrogance, was also worked on, according to former staff members of the British royal house.
And Enrique and Guillermo, “with that idyllic brotherly relationship that they showed”, conquered British hearts, as did their mother. “That helped a lot to get the monarchy back on track,” recalls Owens.
A monarchy reacts to scandals
Hardman points out that instead of hiding “and waiting for the storm to pass”, the British monarchy is now much more reactive in the face of controversy.
Faced with the accusations of racism made by Enrique and Meghan, Elizabeth II quickly responded in a statement that “memories may vary.”
the exile in USA of Enrique and Meghan in 2020, however, it did damage, because “it deprived the monarchy of one of its saviors”, says Owens, who considers that Enrique’s departure was “a great loss”.
Meghan, a former American actress, mixed race, “also embodied some of the virtues that Lady Di tried to project“, he adds, as his way of expressing his emotions and being “sensitive to the concerns of ordinary people”.
But the greatest damage was caused by the management of the crisis around Prince Andrew, often presented as the queen’s favorite son. Accused of sexual assault in an offshoot of the Epstein case, he ended the litigation by paying millions of dollars in an out-of-court settlement.
A month later, Queen Elizabeth II was criticized for letting him accompany her to a ceremony honoring her late husband, the prince philip.
According to Ed Owens, that was “the big mistake” of the 96-year-old monarch in the last two decades, which recalls the failures of the Lady Di era. “The queen may not have learned the lesson of the late 1990s as well as she might have,” she notes.
The historian thinks that similar “traps” lie in wait for Carlos, criticized for his controversial donations to associations or for statements considered little in keeping with those of a future monarch.
Unlike his mother, Carlos lacks “subtlety” and “that will pose problems,” says Owens.
Source: Ambito
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