Unpacking The Change In The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge's Online Interactions With New Social Media Team
If you are starting to like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a lot more lately, this isn’t by chance. The Kensington royals have their new social media team to thank for the positive impressions.
Prince William is second in line for the throne, making the public’s perception of him quite important. As a result, the heir and his wife Kate Middleton have become more likable over the past few months.
There have been some notable changes to how they interact with the public online, and they’ve been successful. Read more to explore the change in the royal couple’s interactions, thanks to their new team.
A Slew Of Controversies
The past year has not been looking up to the British royal family as many controversies plagued the palace. Affairs, sexual assault allegations, and growing support for Meghan and Harry caused the royals to buckle.
More people tuned into ‘The Crown’ during the pandemic and started seeing the family’s flaws. The latest season that recalled Diana’s experience also did not help the family’s image, especially with what Meghan was going through.
The public’s perception of the royals was already in the mud before Prince Harry and Meghan interviewed with Oprah. Unfortunately, that interview stuck the palace further in the mud and even villainized Prince William.
There was a stark difference between the brothers, with William favoring more on the less likable side. Many even came to like Prince William less after learning that the relationship with his brother is strained.
A New Strategy
Many eager royal watchers have noticed a change in the way that Prince William and Kate present themselves. The couple is more candid, interactive, and laid back than their usual stiff presentation.
This change in tone started a year ago when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family. During this time, Meghan and Harry’s social media director, David Watkins, joined the Kensington palace team.
As soon as David joined the team, they experimented with more personal posts. These included more of the children, which people like most, and a more approachable handle rebrand to ‘dukeandduchessofcambridge.’
Headlines raved about Kate sharing a selfie video on the couple’s Instagram page in January highlighting the shift. Additionally, an image of the couple land yachting went viral after being posted on Instagram.
Loosening The Upper Lip
As we have seen in the past, people prefer the royal family members that are more accessible to them. This strategy comes naturally to some and must be manufactured for others but has the same result regardless.
In just two months, the couple gained 500 000 new followers on Instagram. While many may argue natural charm, subtle changes such as changing the profile picture to a couple photo instead of a monogram prove otherwise.
“It feels like they are making a big push to appeal to a modern generation and tap into the popularity of William and Kate,”
Says Royally Obsessed Podcast Cohost Rachel Bowie
In April, the couple created a vacancy for a senior communications officer to amp up their impressive outcome possibly. We can’t wait to see the new strategies they come up with; fingers crossed for a podcast.