William, Prince of Wales

[hellsbells]

Apr 3, 2024 15:40:11 GMT -4 scarlett210 said:

Apr 3, 2024 13:20:07 GMT -4 americanchai said:

I'm not faulting the Waleses for their actions. I just think people who work for the BRF don't seem to be coordinating or handling details (i.e. feeding the media what they need to stay in a zone of respect) before things (and anything involving the royals can be a "thing") blow out of proportion. Every good PR person knows you have to control the narrative at all times. The media exists 24-7 now and are always looking for any bit of content. "So-and-so's stepping out in tiny skirt showing slim pins." It's ridiculous but if you don't feed them content, they go looking for it in the minutest detail or making it up. You send out a picture of the Waleses dying eggs or Charles and Camilla strolling around Highgrove or wherever they are. Just to fill the gaps.

I'm not sure what content William and Kate could have fed the media. Kate selfies at the hospital? Picture of Kate undergoing chemo? They released the Mother's day photo and got shit for it. And all of this time, there was major surgery and a cancer diagnosis. Things they didn't want to discuss in detail until they were ready. What's kind of staggering is the need to know MORE when KP already released brief information on her surgery, that she was home and recovering and wouldn't be taking up duties until after Easter.

I think ensuring they did not release an altered photo would have been a good start.

[ladyboy]

Yes, that for sure. Why didn't they just do old photos of her outside the hospital with all three babies? I feel like that would have been great - reminded people of her motherhood, that most of the time she DOES parade for the public as requried/do her duty, and also remind people that hey, she was just in the hospital again, but not for something happy like a baby this time.

and before you ask, no I don't want to work at KP for 25K a year!

[scarlett210]

Apr 3, 2024 18:44:51 GMT -4 ladyboy said:

Yes, that for sure. Why didn't they just do old photos of her outside the hospital with all three babies? I feel like that would have been great - reminded people of her motherhood, that most of the time she DOES parade for the public as requried/do her duty, and also remind people that hey, she was just in the hospital again, but not for something happy like a baby this time.

and before you ask, no I don't want to work at KP for 25K a year!

Let's face it, even if they had posted old photos for Mother's Day - there still would have been criticism. Why are they using old photos? Why couldn't they post a new photo? Is Kate dead? Did William beat her and she can't show her face? Are they getting a divorce and she's run away to Siberia? Nothing they posted or not posted would have been sufficient to refute the on going conspiracy theories running rampant online. Hell, even after the cancer video, people are accusing KP of releasing an AI Kate.

[Beyle]

Apr 3, 2024 20:44:45 GMT -4 scarlett210 said:

Apr 3, 2024 18:44:51 GMT -4 ladyboy said:

Yes, that for sure. Why didn't they just do old photos of her outside the hospital with all three babies? I feel like that would have been great - reminded people of her motherhood, that most of the time she DOES parade for the public as requried/do her duty, and also remind people that hey, she was just in the hospital again, but not for something happy like a baby this time.

and before you ask, no I don't want to work at KP for 25K a year!

Let's face it, even if they had posted old photos for Mother's Day - there still would have been criticism. Why are they using old photos? Why couldn't they post a new photo? Is Kate dead? Did William beat her and she can't show her face? Are they getting a divorce and she's run away to Siberia? Nothing they posted or not posted would have been sufficient to refute the on going conspiracy theories running rampant online. Hell, even after the cancer video, people are accusing KP of releasing an AI Kate.

It's actually way worse because I've seen my fair share of tweets about Kate faking having cancer because a doctor, who has been stripped off his medical license, made the claim based off his viewing of her video.

Absolutely unhinged.

[royalwave]

Typically the "never complain, never explain" mantra has been the right course of action. You don't feed the flames of unsubstantiated rumors. But yeah, totally unpoliced social media sites have made that strategy increasingly difficult. People can say whatever they please online--it doesn't have to be sourced, triple fact checked, etc. The old journalistic standards are nonexistent in that realm. Add to that the Russian or Chinese bots deliberately putting out disinformation and it's a total cesspool to which no rules apply. When anything can be chalked up to "fake news," the other side of the coin is that anything could also be true. It's a breeding grounds for conspiracy theories.

I don't know how you combat all of this other than just keep putting out the basic facts and trying to stay above the drama. The photoshopped family portrait didn't help the Wales' cause I suppose, but for some people nothing they could have done would have made a bit of difference. The rest of us saw that entire controversy for the silly tempest in a teapot that it was. Occam's razor still applies--in most cases, the simplest explanation is often the best one. Woman has medical issue requiring surgery. Woman takes time off to recuperate. Woman is amateur photographer who likes to play with photoediting software and share her photos online. Pretty straightforward to most reasonable people.

[luckylexie]

I like the “never complain, never explain” approach. KP provided info about Kate’s planned absence and gave updates when they said they would. She never “disappeared” or went “missing.” I’m really annoyed by the headlines that used those words.

I don’t know what else KP could have done either to counter all the wild rumours without compromising Kate’s medical privacy and her need for time to absorb the cancer diagnosis and inform/reassure her young family.

However, KP/Kate/Will messed up by releasing that altered photo, which laser-beam focused the conspiracy theories already out there instead of diffusing them. I get why Kate might have altered the picture, though. I still don’t think it was a huge deal in the end. You can put two and two together and figure out that she probably wasn’t looking her best so photoshopped the picture. She wasn’t hiding anything undermining the UK’s security, ffs.

If anything, KP has learned how truly bonkers the public can be. The Sussex Squad and foreign bots on social media are a real cesspit too, stirring up these inane theories.

[tiggertoo]

Also, we know now that she’s done the same editing in previous family photos and no one noticed. So it probably didn’t occur her that it would be such a world-wide issue this time.

[tiggertoo]

Apr 4, 2024 12:36:24 GMT -4 @fitz said:

My take on KP way of dealing with it all or not is how it contrasted with BP/ Clarence House handling of Charles. I dont mean by realising details of his medical info, they havent other than mention of prostate no other deeper details since . With Charles he was seen going in and out of hospital and a clip of him with cards and well wishes. The timing of course for both couldnt be helped but the fact both hospital stays statements and aftermath have been handled with such contrast at the same time cant have aided public curiosity(and speculations) as such.





…. runs away, hides and logs off again.

I think that’s fair. And it is terrible that they were both going through their hospital stays and diagnoses around the same time. The king was much more visible and still is. One difference is that his initial procedure was much more straight forward, not as invasive. Also, he’s the king, he probably feels he should be as visible as possible. He has a constitutional role. She doesn’t and never will. But also, I think Catherine is a much more private person. And her husband is trying to have a more private family upbringing for his children. Trying to break the sad chain. I read it was her decision to do the video, William didn’t think it was necessary.

[ahah]

I think the turning point in the Kate story was when the pictures were snapped of her in the car with her mom. TMZ published them, British tabloids did not. The belief held by many is that British publications were asked not to. That sparked a bit of suspicion. The speculation is that a deal was made that they would not publish the photos taken of Kate against her will and in exchange, would get a new photo of Kate. THAT is why it mattered to some that the photo was doctored. It was seen as a violation of the agreement (and if such an agreement was made, I'd agree that it's a violation). Once that happened, the gloves were off.
So going back to the KP comms team - if they made the deal and violated it, then stirred the embers of the firestorm.

[seat6]

We also don’t know WHEN Kate learned of the cancer diagnosis (and we don’t need to know). Maybe it was easier to be transparent about Charles’s health because the results were more definitive and faster.

For example, my SIL had stage 0 cancer, it was caught so early. I don’t know what type or what stage cancer Kate has (and I don’t need to know) but maybe the diagnosis was complicated and involved specialists or duplicate tests or something. It sounds like it was a very uncertain time for Kate, her family, and her medical team.