As many have noted, it’s interesting to watch the reactions to and analysis of Prince William and Kate’s bizarre “cancer free” video, which was released on Monday. While royalists have done the most to praise Kate and her statement, it does feel like the video was A Keen Too Far. Even dyed-in-the-wool monarchists are openly admitting that if Meghan and Harry had made a video like that, the Sussexes would have been thoroughly mocked. I keep going back to the tonal, messaging and communications issues surrounding William and Kate this year – they are being advised poorly, or they are not listening to advice. The manipulated photos and videos, the refusal to acknowledge or thank Kate’s doctors or medical support, and months and months of lies. The video felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back of “WTF is going on here?” Anyway, you know it’s bad when Daily Mail commentators are calling sh-t out. From Liz Jones’ latest Mail column:

Kate’s message versus the video: “A few simple words we have all waited anxiously to hear. Phew. I was in tears. But then, suddenly and inexplicably, what began as a heartfelt message, a tonic, a relief after all the months of obfuscation, descended into a Boden advert. Or something Marc Jacobs might use to sell scent. There were trees. And ferns, so many ferns. Dappled sunlight. The sort of frolicking by children amongst farm machinery and ploughed fields that seemed to locate it not in 2024, but circa the Second World War, not least because of the old-fashioned cine camera special effects. Perhaps that was the message. Kate has been though hell, through a battle. And she is winning.”

Reminiscent of that long-buried 1969 documentary on the Windsors: And yet the ‘highly choreographed’ (those were the words used by the usually sycophantic ITV News at Ten), slick and soft-focus three-minute video released … was surely as misjudged as the 1969 documentary that attempted to portray the royal family as ‘normal’, backfiring so badly the Queen made sure it was never seen again. If that documentary following a year in the life of the monarch was accused of ruining the royal mystique by making them seem like any other ‘modern’ family, this new video was attempting to do the opposite. To portray the Waleses as hyper real, perfect, retro. Like something out of an Enid Blyton novel. But why on earth? A real portrayal would show the kids on their phones, surely. Catherine would look tired and pensive, not perfect with conker-coloured hair.

A literal walk in the park: She says it has been ‘incredibly tough’ but the trouble is, it all looks like a photogenic walk in the park. Only William seems almost real. Reclined on various blankets, or on the sand, he is awkward, as if placed there, limbs carefully arranged like a marionette. Catherine, towards the end of her voiceover (also strange, making the video seem like a wildlife documentary), speaks of walking side by side, hand in hand with other cancer sufferers, but in this short film she has never seemed more detached. It doesn’t help that her words are backed by a soundtrack of slow, ’emotional’ piano.

The cringe: Cancer is messy, imperfect, shattering. After all the mental health initiatives, her work stressing the importance of shaping young minds, this strange, odd film seems a misfire from a family once so protective of their privacy. It smacks of something Meghan and Harry might come up with: Hallmark, cringy, cliched. Not real or from the heart at all.

The keen chimera: Wouldn’t it have meant more if Catherine had discussed the type of cancer she is suffering from, possibly saving hundreds if not thousands of lives? Perhaps a video of her meeting other women with the same diagnosis? Where was the Catherine from that bench in Windsor, baring her soul, telling us of her diagnosis? Replaced by a chimera. An ideal. An illusion. Who at Kensington Palace thought this was the right approach? There were lots of sober comment pieces in the papers yesterday, saying Kate has taken control, driven the narrative. But it all seems off, and the public is seeing through it. After a strange video looking ecstatic leaving a farm shop, and radiant appearances at the Trooping of the Colour and Wimbledon, we suddenly have this outpouring of intimacy that, to me, to many of us, seems a bit… desperate.

The monarchy is hanging by a thread: To my mind, the portrait of our next King was off, too. How can we take William seriously, having seen his bare legs, wrapped around his wife? The monarchy is hanging by a thread, please don’t stretch our credulity. This was a film too easily dismissed as manipulative by those who don’t like the royals. I am, of course, a staunch supporter, but even I don’t want yet another Instagram account, spooning fantasy into our open mouths, as if we are baby birds, not adults with our own mounting problems.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yikes! Liz Jones makes some criticisms which even I, a certified hater, would hesitate to write. “Hallmark, cringy, cliched” and “seems a bit… desperate” and “To portray the Waleses as hyper real, perfect, retro.” I would love the behind-the-scenes story on who came up with the concept of the video and what was said in those palace brain trust meetings. There’s an aspect to the video which I do feel like is pure Kate. As in, this is what SHE wanted, this is the image she wants to project, as a throwback, retro, Edwardian royal who was briefly struck down with the vapors and now spends her days galloping in a field. So what was the coordination on Kate’s vision?

Photos courtesy of Will Warr/KP.