Public displays of affection on a royal video? My, how times have changed!
When the Princess of Wales announced that she had completed chemotherapy treatment in a soft-focus, Insta-ready video, she ventured into realms not previously inhabited by Britain’s royal family, traditionally known for the stiff-upper-lip, “never complain, never explain” ethos of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Here was the most popular royal, a public figure usually known simply as Kate, using the tools of social media to share the fact that for all her wealth and privilege, her life had been upended by cancer, just like millions of other people.
But it wasn’t just what she said, it was how she said it. Unlike earlier updates on Kate’s health, which sounded like factual news reports, this had an entirely different tone. The slickly produced mini-movie released on Monday showed the princess hugging Prince William and their three young children and sharing intimate moments at home with her parents.
There’s even a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“It is a real break,’’ said George Gross, a royal historian at King’s College London. “But I think people will look at it and won’t necessarily realize that. I think they will think: This is just right, this is normal. That’s what a family does.”
A tradition of secrecy
Kate’s video marks the royal family’s latest experiment with greater openness since King Charles III assumed the throne in 2022. That has been tested repeatedly this year as both Charles and Kate were treated for serious health problems, then later announced they were undergoing cancer treatment.
For centuries, Britain’s royal family withheld news of illness for fear it might weaken their authority. That reticence and secrecy lingered even after they became constitutional figureheads.
The British public wasn’t told that King George VI, Charles’ grandfather, had lung cancer before his death at the age of 56 in February 1952. The public death announcement said only that the king had “passed peacefully away in his sleep.”
King George V died in 1936, after suffering from heart and lung disease. Far from being open about the king’s health, palace officials manipulated the timing of his death to gain more favorable coverage. Diary extracts published 50 years later revealed that the king’s physician injected the terminally ill monarch with morphine and cocaine to speed his death — partly so it could be announced in the morning newspapers “rather than the less appropriate evening journals.”
Charles has made a point of being more open than his mother, Elizabeth, whom Buckingham Palace described as suffering from “mobility issues” in the months before her death.
In January, the palace said Charles would enter a London hospital for treatment for an enlarged prostate. A few weeks later, the king said he would step away from public duties while he received treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer. Those announcements, however, were made in factual releases issued by the palace press office.
A new generation of royals
But Kate and William, both 42, are of a new generation that is more comfortable sharing personal issues on social media.
Kate’s video was shot by William Warr, creative director of Detail Films, which says it combines film production techniques and strategic marketing to create “beautiful branded films.”
“We exist to help brands tell stories that speak to their audience,” the firm says on its website.
In the video, Kate described how difficult the past nine months had been for her family and expressed “relief” at completing her course of treatment.
“Life as you know it can change in an instant, and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown,’’ she said in the video, which was shot in a woodland near the family’s summer home in Norfolk.
Mark Borkowski, a public relations and crisis consultant, described the film as “a tectonic shift in how the royal family controls its image.’’
“Kate’s journey is profound and deeply personal, but they’ve learned that emotion can be controlled – and weaponized – in small, potent doses,’’ he said. “By doing this through a polished film, they maintain dignity and control while still appearing relatable.”
It’s the age of social media
The fact that the royal family needed new techniques for controlling its story in the age of TikTok and Instagram was underscored after palace officials announced in January that Kate would be hospitalized for abdominal surgery. While the palace released few details about her condition, social media sites were filled with speculation about what was really going on as Kate retreated from public view to focus on her recovery.
When the princess announced that she had cancer two months later, she spoke directly to the public in a somber video in which she asked for “time, space and privacy” while she underwent treatment.
In June, Kate released a video update, saying she had good days and bad days.
While the princess stepped away from most public duties during her treatment, Kate has made two appearances this year. First, during the king’s birthday parade in June, known as Trooping the Colour, and most recently during the men’s final at Wimbledon in July, where she received a standing ovation.
Now that she has completed chemotherapy, Kate plans to slowly return to public duties, “undertaking a few more public appearances” in the coming months.
But Kate said in her video that the path to full recovery would be long and she would “take each day as it comes.”
“William and I are so grateful for the support we have received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time,” she said. “Everyone’s kindness, empathy and compassion has been truly humbling.”
The video should be see as part of the king’s effort to increase the openness of the royal family as he seeks to build support for the monarchy, Gross said.
“It’s an operation. It’s the whole firm together,’’ he said. “And, I think, it really matches that sense of we’re being as open as we can, whilst retaining a natural sense of privacy that you need over these things.’’