 |
| Flowers and messages are placed by the gates of Kensington Palace, London, former residence of the late Princess Diana.
Public anger at the monarchy following the death of Princess Diana
marked a turning point for the royal family, forcing a revolution in its
communications machine that helped revive the brand.
As mourners left thousands of bouquets of flowers at the gates of
Buckingham Palace and nearby Kensington Palace, after Diana's death on August
31, 1997, the royal family were nowhere to be seen.
Prince Charles, divorced from Diana, and his mother Queen Elizabeth II
remained at their Scottish residence of Balmoral, saying nothing for days.
Despite the British public's mounting anger at the royal response or
lack thereof it was not until the day before Diana's funeral that the queen
finally broke her silence with a live broadcast to the nation.
The monarch's distance from the public outpouring of grief for the woman
dubbed the "people's princess" by then Prime Minister Tony Blair
caused resentment.
Having been immersed in protocol and tradition for centuries, the royals
quickly realised they were in urgent need of an image overhaul.
In her tribute to Diana, the queen said: "I for one believe that
there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and
moving reaction to her death."
The result was royals "having to become more professional, and
having to take real control and take outside advice and better professional
people," public relations expert Mark Borkowski said.
- 'Human' image -
The out-of-touch Buckingham Palace press office, which Borkowski
remembers used to close over the weekends while some of the most interesting
Diana stories unfolded, underwent a shake-up.
Sluggish employees were replaced with PR-savvy professionals.
Patrick Jephson, Diana's former private secretary, said the current
image of the monarchy was the product of a "very sophisticated news
management campaign".
The current media strategy focuses on distributing positive information
about the monarchy, while at the same time protecting the royals' privacy.
One of the first tasks post-Diana was to create a more "human"
image for the queen, who had been reported as being more concerned about her
dogs and horses than her citizens.
Charles, mocked for being haughty and stiff, has also gone through a
revamp since his ex-wife's death.
"He has spent an enormous amount of money hiring very
sophisticated, professional, political-style spin doctors to manage his
image," Jephson said.
The investment has paid off, with the public's gradual acceptance of
Charles's relationship with his former mistress Camilla, whom he married in
2005.
- Queen impresses at Olympics -
The extent of the royal recovery could be seen in 2011, when Diana's
eldest son Prince William married Kate in a ceremony watched worldwide as
Britons held street parties in the couple's honour.
"What they tried to do was to promote what was good about the royal
family," said Robert Jobson, co-author of the book "Diana: Closely
Guarded Secret".
Elizabeth II fell well and truly back in favour at the 2012 Olympic
Games, when she approved a stunt which appeared to show her leaping out of a
helicopter into the London stadium alongside James Bond, played by Daniel
Craig.
"They want to be a more approachable, less aloof family... Not
these upper-class aristocrats who don't understand the people," said
Borkowski.
The media strategy appears to have succeeded, with the queen continuing
her record-breaking reign with the support of her subjects.
"I think the monarchy under the stewardship of Her Majesty the
Queen has certainly learnt lessons throughout the time".
And as the monarch slowly steps back from some royal duties, her
grandchildren Princes William and Harry are taking on more public roles helped
by a well-oiled media machine that helped burnish their image in the public
eye.
"The whole place has been
revolutionised," Borkowski said.
|
Comments
Post a Comment