Case Study #4: A Matter of Survival: Public Relations Strategies of the British Royal Family

By Tessa Chandler, 2024

The public relations strategies of the British royal family have long been a fascinating case study for PR students and professionals. Over the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which dominated the previous century of the monarchy, the strategies of the institution and of the individual family members have evolved. More recently, the family members have further advanced their communications strategies to effectively use social media and global streaming platforms to reach their audiences.

The survival of the British monarchy depends on the protection of their reputation and public image; their public relations strategies reflect this goal. The institution is unique, as they are not driven by sales or profit, so studying how they maintain a positive relationship with the public offers unique insight compared to other PR actors.

The monarchy has maintained a close relationship with the British media to secure positive press and to share their own stories. Some members, such as the late Princess Diana, used her media exposure to her advantage, while others preferred a “less is more” approach when dealing with the media.

Incorporating media relations and crisis communications strategies is key to the monarchy’s success engaging the average British citizen. In a crisis, they are typically quick to respond, to make a public statement, and even to apologize for their mistakes when necessary. A notable exception to this is following Princess Catherine’s cancer diagnosis, when the monarchy’s lack of honesty and openness was a public relations failure.

Like any organization, the monarchy and their Royal Communications department experience successes and failures. They must continue to evolve and improve their PR strategies to ensure their survival, which is dependent on how the public perceives and values them.

Public Relations Strategies

Like many large organizations, the royal family has its own in-house public relations office—Royal Communications—which employs former media professionals. This integration of media and PR professionals highlights the importance of knowing and understanding the workings of the media for the monarchy. The monarchy has generally taken a “less is more” approach to media releases and official communications; being honest and addressing the facts were key to the late queen’s public relations strategy. She maintained a clear and consistent communication style throughout her reign. Elizabeth II prided herself on knowing her audience and understanding the key issues they faced at any given time (Licano, 2019). She maintained a “never complain, never explain” approach to communications (Hornery, 2023), unlike the royals of the 21st century, specifically Harry and Meghan, who take a much more open approach.

Their Netflix special, Oprah interview, and Harry’s memoir, Spare, have attracted support from some audiences sympathetic to their situation and highlights the perceptibly honest nature of their communications (Hornery, 2023). An institution often criticised as being inaccessible, Harry and Meghan’s departure from this standard strategy has been welcomed by many. Viewing the media as a partnership, the monarchy employs long-practiced strategies for interacting with and using this partnership to their advantage.

However, in more recent years, with the evolution of social media, which has allowed for anyone to become an amateur journalist, the monarchy has needed to evolve their public relations strategies to avoid the spread of “fake news” or “clickbait” stories. With that, younger royals—once again, notably Meghan and Harry—have developed this more open communication approach, using social media and other formats to reach wider audiences and share their personal narratives (Vanderhoof, 2023).

Relationship with the British Media

Interacting with the media is inevitable for the institution and is essential to fulfilling their role in British democracy. In a 2021 interview, however, Prince Harry discussed the “invisible contract” between the British royal family and the media. He claimed that, as an individual family member, if you entertain the media and provide “full access” to your life, then you will ultimately get better press (Hornery, 2023). If you try to maintain privacy, you will risk misrepresentation in the media.

There is a deep sense of fear, but also an acknowledgement, that the media is an essential vehicle for royal communications efforts. For members of the family, media acceptance does not also equal public favour and popularity. Also, more representation in the media does not necessarily influence people to become more interested in the monarchy (Vanderhoof, 2023). Prior to their departure from their royal roles, Harry and Meghan received particularly “hateful” treatment from the media that significantly contributed to increasing tensions within the family (Bingham, 2023). Furthermore, there is also competing interest in the media among individual family members. During the height of Princess Diana’s popularity, she was gaining more attention and public adoration than the queen, upsetting senior staff and family members (Vanderhoof, 2023).

A Lesson in Crisis Communications

One of the key tasks of the Royal Communications team is crisis management. Responding promptly and professionally is key, particularly when facing potential threats to public image. When Harry and Meghan decided to step down as full-time working royals, Queen Elizabeth II was praised for responding quickly. This showed that the family had nothing to hide. She laid out a plan for moving forward after the couple’s departure and how that would affect the public and the family. In doing so, the queen made clear that she supported and respected their decision. More importantly, for any crisis response, the queen was always prepared in her statements to the media and the public, communicating the values and key message of the institution (Talenfeld, 2020).

Queen Elizabeth II was also adept at connecting on a human level with her audience. Due to the immense outpouring of grief following Princess Diana’s death, the queen broke protocol and gave Diana a funeral service reserved for active members of the institution. She went even further and personally interacted with mourners outside the palace following Diana’s death. This was widely praised by the media and the public. The queen understood the needs of her audience, a mourning public that needed leadership and empathy, and changed the monarchy’s communication strategy accordingly.

Successes and Failures

Princess Diana was a master of public relations; she maintained a positive public image, even when she was disliked by members of the royal family. Her compassion and ability to empathize with all people made her more accessible than any other royal family member (Zitelmann, 2019). Diana’s biographer claimed she was an “artful practitioner” at using the media (Zitelmann, 2019); she held great power and public admiration thanks to the immense media attention she attracted.

Following her divorce with then Prince Charles, the release of her biography revealed the unhappiness of their marriage and painted a picture that Charles was solely to blame for their divorce. She got ahead of the story to share her own narrative and influence audience opinion to gain sympathy and support (Zitelmann, 2019). Diana: Her True Story, authored by Andrew Morton, but with contributions by the princess herself, gained her media attention and public devotion and support that lasted until her tragic death.

Through interviews and ongoing media attention, she maintained a recurring narrative of being a “wronged woman,” one of whom the monarchy disapproved of and tried to silence. This practice broke the “never explain, never complain” tradition of the monarchy’s communications. In doing so, she appealed to a huge global audience that could identify with her plight and emotionally connect with her (Zitelmann, 2019). Diana’s key message was that she wanted to be “the queen of people’s hearts”; she ensured there was constant positive stories about her in the media. This was essential to maintaining her image as the compassionate, relatable, and wronged woman who escaped the royal family (Zitelmann, 2019). Princess Diana is a prime example of the varying PR strategies used by members of the institution. Some family members are more successful than others in the court of public opinion.

In January, 2005, Prince Harry attended a costume party wearing an old German military uniform with a Nazi swastika. The uniform justifiably caused outrage in the UK and abroad. While his actions were a public relations disaster, the monarchy’s communication team was quick to issue a full apology and express regret for his behaviour. Taking accountability and swiftly issuing a direct and honest apology eased public outcry. Their efficient apology was praised by leading members of the Jewish community (Jones, 2005) and is evidence of the effectiveness of their crisis response strategies, notably taking accountability and apologizing when appropriate (Vanderhoof, 2023).

More recently, the coronation of King Charles was a public relations flop. In what was an attempt to attract public attention away from the ongoing conflict with Meghan and Harry, Camilla’s Country Life documentary aired during the same time as the event to gain attention and support for the new king. It did little to draw attention to the coronation and to excite the public about the new king. Unfortunately, Charles already lacked the public adoration and support that his mother held. This event was further example of his relative disapproval among the British public (Vanderhoof, 2023). Charles’ failure to garner positive public opinion is emblematic of the failure of his PR strategy, attempting to distract the public rather than to face his lack of popularity head on.

In early 2024, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announced a cancer diagnosis amid widespread public speculation and controversy surrounding her departure from public life. Royal communications around this time were vague surrounding the Princess’ diagnosis, which closely followed King Charles’ own cancer diagnosis. As in the past, the monarchy attempted to downplay the severity of the crisis, but were criticized for their lack of transparency (Nicholl, 2024). With two such influential figures stepping back from public life, the monarchy appeared more vulnerable than ever. The public and media were quick to speculate and share conspiracy theories to explain Catherine’s sudden departure.

The “vacuum” of information, unfilled by the monarchy, coupled with a lack of honesty and transparency, weakened their connection with the public, who criticized their lack of communication (Nicholl, 2024). The crisis worsened when, to help quell speculation, the palace released a photograph of Kate and her children for Mother’s Day. Media commentators quickly recognized that the photo had been manipulated, causing some outlets to refuse its publication (Nicholls, 2024). Not only did this create more uncertainty about the status of the family, but it also prompted distrust in the official communications of the organization.

Princess Catherine ultimately admitted she had edited the photo herself, but this did little to put the public and the media at ease. The lack of transparent communications surrounding the event was a significant failure by the monarchy and the Royal Communications office. While the photo brought the public some reassurance surrounding her wellbeing, it also created doubt in the integrity of the organization, which worsened the feelings of distrust that already developed from the lack of information prior to the release of the photo (Nicholls, 2024).

Furthermore, the communications response was simply too delayed. After releasing the photo, speculation began immediately, yet it took over 12 hours for the communications team to respond with a statement (Laing, 2024). Being honest about who is sharing a message, taking accountability, and acting swiftly are key components of crisis communications that were absent in the monarchy’s response (Laing, 2024).

Key Learning Points

A commitment to honest communications and understanding the audience and their needs is essential. When questioned about his relationship with Harry, William responded that “we’ll always be brothers” and that “stuff happens.” This response is relatable, honest, and does not go into the detail of the conflict (Licano, 2019). Crisis communication theory and modern media study suggests a “don’t add oxygen to the fire” approach; to give an issue “air” will allow it to spread and worsen (Vanderhoof, 2023). The royal family routinely implement this strategy in their public relations practice.

The PR teams of the royal family members have also shown the importance of using policy and law to support their public statements. This is useful for plainly and firmly supporting their position and maintaining their approach of not adding “oxygen to the fire.” When a media outlet reported William was cheating on Catherine, his brief media statement clearly stated that it was factually incorrect and a breach of his right to privacy “protected by the European Convention to Human Rights” (Licano, 2019). This allowed them to efficiently quell the rumours and show the media that the royals would not accept any defamation.

Princess Catherine’s recent photo editing blunder and the monarchy’s failure to adequately respond are examples of how their traditional communications strategy: “never explain, never complain” (Laing, 2024) is not always effective. The communications were ambiguous and Royal Communications lost control of the narrative, appearing dishonest. This highlights their need to evolve their “never explain” strategy (Laing, 2024).

Open communication could have minimized the severity of this recent public relations failure. The monarchy failed to appreciate the scale and reach of modern audiences online and adjust their public relations strategy accordingly. Being honest, transparent, and acting quickly—but always with accuracy—is more important than ever, as social media allows for stories to circulate faster than ever (Laing, 2024). Their response to the doctored photo was too little too late (Serhan, 2024) and Royal Communications proved to be incapable of keeping up with the frenzy of speculation created by their vague communications (Serhan, 2024).

In considering theoretical models of public relations, the royal institution is unique. They are not driven by product, profit, recruitment, or election; their communications are solely about protecting their image and the integrity and survival of the institution. There is not one single target audience, but many, as they aim to reach audiences in varying demographics across the globe, such as women who could sympathize with Princess Diana, or now younger audiences who can relate to Harry and Meghan’s more modern public relations approach. Information is largely distributed via the mainstream media using media releases or interviews. Their approach is useful for study by public relations practitioners, as it highlights the need for honest communications and, further, that evolving an institution’s public relations strategy is essential to its survival. Finally, establishing a strong crisis communications model is key. The failure of the institution’s response to the Princess’ photo scandal is an instructive example of the need for a strong crisis communications plan for any organization.

References

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Grunig, J. & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. Wadsworth.

Hornery, A. (2023) ‘Never complain, never explain’: Do the royals need a new PR strategy? Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/never-complain-never-explain-do-the-royals-need-a-new-pr-strategy-20230103-p5ca3d.html

Jones, S. (2005) Royal family caught up in Nazi row. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jan/13/royalsandthemedia.pressandpublishing

Laing, S. (2024). Why the Kate Middleton crisis has been a PR tire fire. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/life/why-the-kate-middleton-crisis-has-been-a-pr-tire-fire-id-have-to-give/article_cd04492e-e7ca-11ee-bc3a-fbcbf08033f0.html

Licano, L. (2019). Poise and PR: What the royal family can teach us about crisis communications. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/12/26/poise-and-pr-what-the-royal-family-can-teach-us-about-crisis-communications/?sh=5b652131683c

Nicholl, K. (2024). With Princess Kate and King Charles battling cancer, the monarchy has never felt more fragile. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/kate-middleton-royals-cover-story

Serhan, Y. (2024). The Kate Middleton photo controversy shows the royal PR team is out of Its depth. Time. https://time.com/6899912/kate-middleton-edited-manipulated-photo/

Talenfeld, J. (2020). 5 PR tips from Queen Elizabeth’s regal crisis communications plan. Agility PR Solutions. https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/5-pr-tips-from-queen-elizabeths-queenly-crisis-communications-plan/

Vanderhoof, E. (2023). With the family in fractures and his mother’s legacy a tough act to follow, Charles should consider tossing out the old playbook. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/05/king-charles-needs-pr-strategy-for-modern-era

Zitelmann, R. (2019). Princess Diana: Master of self-marketing. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rainerzitelmann/2019/12/02/princess-diana-master-of-self-marketing/?sh=5b4f889f7060

Cover Page Photo Credit

Jones, M. (2017). Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Christmas Day 2017 [photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prince_Harry_and_Meghan_Markle_on_Christmas_Day_2017.jpg