PALACE CONFIDENTIAL discusses Kate and William’s ‘slick’ Instagram strategy

The Prince and Princess of Wales’s ‘slick’ Instagram reels will create a new generation of royal fans, says Richard Eden.

Speaking on this week’s episode of PALACE CONFIDENTIAL, the Daily Mail’s diary editor said the couple were ‘trying to reach a younger audience’ with their videos on social media – including a behind-the-scenes round up of the King’s Coronation.

Whereas some, including the Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine, had criticised the Waleses for the incredibly slick clips, Eden disagreed and made the point that the videos would reach ‘people who are less supportive of the royal family generally’.

Rebecca English, royal editor at the Daily Mail, also thought the couple’s ‘social media blitz’ would win over young people.

She noted that, while overall support for the royal family was high among the British public, there was a ‘generational difference’ in levels of support.

Speaking to Jo Elvin, she said: ‘Support [for the royal family] is really rock solid amongst the older generation, but not so much amongst the younger generation.

‘So the Waleses have been looking at this for a while and they’ve really ramped it up since Easter. ‘How do we tell our story to these people? How do we engage them?”

She added that, as well as showing people what their lives are like as people, the videos also gave the Waleses a chance to share the work they are carrying out on issues such as homelessness.

However, she added the ‘jury is still out’ on whether or not the Waleses are going about this in the right way.

‘These social media clips are almost topo well put together, there’s a lot of jazzy music that goes with it,’ she said.

The Waleses have begun posting ‘slick’ edited videos on their Instagram account showing behind-the-scenes clips of events they have attended, including King Charles’s Coronation

Jo Elvin added: ‘Arguably [the videos] could be a little bit alienating for the younger generations, couldn’t they? So much wealth, so much gloss.’

English said a source in the royal household had told her the Waleses had got the ‘right idea’ but that there was still some discussion about the slick production of the videos.

Eden joked that there might be a ‘competition’ between the Waleses and the King and Queen, who are now advertising for their own videographer, presumably to produce similar content.

He said: ‘It’s quite amusing but that’s what you’ve got to do if you want to reach different age groups.’

The pair made the point that the royals have not yet joined TikTok, amid scepticism from the British government over its security after government workers were banned from downloading the Chinese-founded app onto their work devices.

However he joked that if the royals did join TikTok, he was looking forward to seeing King Charles and Queen Camilla involved in a ‘dance-off’ against the Prince and Princess of Wales.

English laughed: ‘If they don’t do it, AI will do it for them.’ 

She also revealed that the Waleses have had talks with TikTok, but it was more to gain an understanding of how the platform works.

Elsewhere in the episode, the panellists discussed the ‘stalemate’ between King Charles and Prince Andrew, over the Duke’s occupancy of the Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate.

It has been reported that the King had planned to throw out Andrew and instead move the Prince and Princess of Wales into the property, which the Duke, 63, has spent tens of thousands of pounds of his own money doing up.

But Eden disagreed with the idea, and the extraordinary suggestion this week that Charles could ‘cut off’ resources to the property.

‘Prince Andrew thinks, quite rightly, ‘why on earth should I move? I spent all my money doing up this house’ he said. 

‘He’s got a 75 year lease, so he’s got it for life and I think he’s outraged at the idea that he should have to move at all.’ 

For now, neither side will budge, and that’s not a good look, argued English.

‘There is stalemate, so where do they go from here? The King’s made really clear, ‘we feel that you should move out’. 

Andrew’s saying, ‘no way I’m doing that, I took on that role in good faith’,’ she said.

‘Then there are the optics. Is it right that in this day and age, is it right that a non-working royal should be living in a fabulous 30-room house, just him and his ex-wife?’