Harry and Meghan stepping back from the Royal Family and towards a new media policy is exactly the right PR move
Silence as a PR strategy never works, argues Phoebe Netto. It encourages gossip and assumptions and untruths, which are enabled by the Royal Family’s rota system. By cleverly stepping away from that and implementing their own media policy, Harry and Meghan will control the message.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are ‘stepping back’ as senior members of the royal family. Instead, Harry and Meghan will now divide their time between the UK and North America and work on becoming ‘financially independent’. But while everyone is focusing on rumoured rifts and their desire to earn their own money, there is a huge selling point that people are missing: a new media policy.
The new policy will allow Harry and Meghan to speak to any media they like, putting a stop to the ‘Royal Rota’ system – in which tabloid media are given stories exclusively – and to respond to media enquiries or correct stories as they wish. And it’s exactly the right PR move in order to combat gossip and mistruths and, instead, control the message.
As explained in the Sussex’s new media policy: “The Royal Rota was established more than 40 years ago as a way of giving UK print and broadcast media exclusive inside access to the official engagements of members of the Royal Family.
Amazing how obsessed with the Royal Family the UK and AU still are.
It’s wonderful how everyone – media and other commentators – have got on board with the PR euphemism ‘stepping back’, when a better description might be ‘jumping ship’.
Regardless of what people might think of the Royal Family and their role in modern society, respect for the Queen is universal, from friends and foes alike. For anyone, especially one born in to that family and to have enjoyed all the benefits it brings, to not inform the Queen well beforehand is seriously insulting. For Harry and Meghan to then highlight their naivety and rudeness by calling themselves ‘senior’ members of the Royal household [love to hear what Princess Anne said when she read that], then cherry-pick which parts of their privileged life they want to keep [like the home, the security, the income] whilst discarding that which they find tiresome and then declare they want to trademark the ‘brand name’ SussexRoyal’, when Duke and Duchess of Sussex [titles they do not own but are bestowed on them by the Queen] are titles that may be granted to future generations [like the Prince of Wales] just goes to show how unbelievably foolish they are behaving. It’s time Harry and Meghan woke up!
In the 56 years I have been involved and observing the media it has moved from ‘foot-in-the-door’ to packs of baying hounds after celebrity ‘blood’. Phoebe Netto has got it right: the Sussexes must do their own thing on their own terms … and bugger the parasites who call themselves ‘royal correspondents’; toadies who tug the forelock. Without the royals they wouldn’t have a job. It is time for the house of Mountbatten-Windsor to reinvent itself along the lines of the trio of Scandi royals. Much is made of the economic value of the royal ‘firm’ to the British economy. That, too, is a falsity. The Yanks are the only ones who indulge in this fantasy; but then they’ve become saddled with an emperor with no clothes.
‘Meghan, Meghan, Meghan’
I think this just is further proof to the rumours that Prince Charles wasn’t Harry’s real father.
I thought this was Mumbrella, not New Idea!
Having said that, who is rumored to be Hazza’s real father?
#sussexroyal
Me, the well spoken man. I’m opening a bar and restaurant in spain and trying to wean myself off television work.
#obscurereferences.
James Hewitt. It was known from birth that Charles wasn’t the father, which is why Harry has always been the odd one out of the family. It would have been far too scandalous to kick him out as a child, so they raised him as part of the family, but all knowing full well that a time would come when he has to leave. The nude photos, the Nazi costume etc, all of these things were leaked to slightly taint Harry’s public perception and portray him as ‘non royal’. This is the final part of the separation and it’s too make sure that neither Harry or any of his descendants ever get on the throne.
Wow, coming to Netflix soon?!
@Anon…
Now that’s some juicy info!
I particularly like the part about slowly tainting his image over time in preparation for this moment.
What will those devious royals do next??!!!
Agree intelligent responses and dignity of responses to people are required as this has been sorely lacking in public debate.