Assuming that Kate Middleton is in fact recovering “well” from surgery and returns to the public eye around Easter, the royal family’s latest PR crisis should pass and the world should move on from speculating about her health and feeling outrage over last Sunday’s release of a digitally manipulated photo of her and her children.
This optimistic view of Kate and Prince William’s ability to rebound from her Mother’s Day photo controversy comes from Eric Schiffer, a Los Angeles-based crisis public relations and reputation crisis expert.
Schiffer noted that the royal family, guided by the late Queen Elizabeth II, has became adept at playing the long game when it comes to public relations, knowing that it’s not worth getting mired in responding to every controversy, including those sparked by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. As other PR experts have said, the long game recognizes that the public’s attention span is limited and tumultuous news cycles tend to quickly wear themselves out.
“They know it’s going to pass,” Schiffer said in an interview with this news organization. “People will forget about it.”
What Britain’s future queen and king have going for them is that they are popular in the U.K., Schiffer said. “Kate and William have worked really hard to build a trusted brand,” he said, adding: “I work with a lot of journalists in Britain. (Kate) is beloved. They really respect and like her.”
Beyond Kate issuing a statement on Monday, apologizing for her “amateur” editing job on the Mother’s Day photo – a move that Schiffer praised – Kensington Palace is not likely to say anything more in response to the controversy, even after revelations about the doctored image prompted unprecedented warnings from major international news organizations.
Schiffer said he would also advise Kate, William and the rest of the royal family “to cool their heels and let things settle.” He said, “Kate has already owned it, which was wise. Now it’s time to leave it be.”
Still, the Wales could make one more attempt to reassure the public that Kate isn’t in a coma, hasn’t left the marriage or hasn’t been “disappeared” by the royal family — as some of the conspiracy theories have alleged. Schiffer said there could be another sighting of the princess in the next week or two. But whatever photos emerge from this sighting should be “raw,” meaning they shouldn’t be a heavily manipulated “overcorrection” like the Mother’s Day day photo, Schiffer said.
Of course, whether this crisis ultimately passes depends entirely upon whether Kate is in fact recovering from the mysterious “planned” abdominal surgery she had in January, Schiffer said.
“To the extent that she heals and recaptures her health, they’ll be able to correct this and get back to issues that matter,” Schiffer said. Then again, he added: “We don’t know what Kate is dealing with. We don’t know the ultimate challenges she is managing.”
If the 42-year-old mother of three is in fact suffering from “a bigger condition related to her health” than has been suggested by Kensington Palace, “that becomes another matter,” Schiffer said.
A report from the Daily Beast Friday quoted friends of the princess who said she’s been dealing with “intense stress,” some of which comes from the “various dramas” involving the estranged, California-based Harry and Meghan. Those dramas have included allegations that Kate made Meghan cry before her 2018 wedding and that Kate is one of the so-called royal racists who talked about what their son, Archie, would look like when he was born. This “stress,” the friends told the Daily Beast, is partly responsible for Kate’s absence from public life.
On Jan. 17, Kensington Palace issued a statement announcing Kate’s surgery, which it said was “planned.” But the palace would not explain the nature of her condition, while it also said she had to cancel upcoming engagements and was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.” A subsequent statement said that the palace would only provide updates on her recovery “when something was significant.”
This lack of clarity around Kate’s surgery and condition has created a vacuum that’s been filled with conspiracy theories about her health and whereabouts, some more outlandish than others.
The statement about her not returning to public duties until “after Easter” also has left people wondering whether she’ll make her first post-procedure appearance on Easter itself, which falls on March 31, by joining the royal family for their traditional church outing on that day, People reported.
If Kate doesn’t join the Easter celebration, it may be a few more weeks until she makes a public appearance, People said. That’s because her and William’s children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — go on school vacation in early April, and the couple usually take time off to be with their kids during school breaks. That means she possibly won’t undertake a royal duty until mid-April, People said.
The conspiracy theories about Kate’s condition became amplified this week after Kensington Palace released the disputed photo of Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis last Sunday, which was Mother’s Day in the UK.
Even though the Wales have shared Mother’s Day greetings in past years, Schiffer said releasing this particular photo came “across as forced and over-the-top.” He said it was a misguided attempt to allay concerns about Kate’s health, especially after she looked “burdened” in a paparazzi photo published the week before in U.S. publications, showing her being driven in a car by mother near Windsor Castle.
Even after Kate took responsibility for the poor editing job on the Mother’s Day photo, the royal family continued to deal this week with a global fall-out from the controversy. Even pro-royal journalists in the U.K. chastised the palace, and William himself, for letting Kate take the fall for what was also their responsibility. The crisis so dominated the news cycle that it prompted American late-night host Stephen Colbert to turn it into a comedy bit, humorously leaning into an old unsubstantiated rumor that Prince William cheated on his wife with a socialite friend.
She, William and the rest of the monarchy have since been inundated with questions about secrecy and a lack of transparency, especially after four international news agencies told clients that the photo should be “killed” from distribution because it appeared to have been manipulated.
Phil Chetwynd, global news director of Agence France-Presse (AFP), also told the BBC that Kensington Palace was no longer a “trusted source” and that it would rigorously inspect future picture handouts from the royals.
Still, Schiffer referred back to the careful work Kate and William have done over the years to build their brand. “You’ve seen over the last couple of years, a shift to leverage social media more and trying to be involved in issues that matter to young people, including mental health and the environment.” He said this work should go along way towards helping them get past this crisis, so that they can continue to “highlight issues that matter to future generations.”