Megxit has been good for the royal couple... the other
couple, that is
Barbara
Ellen
The
Cambridges are proving to be experts at self-marketing. Sorry about that, Harry
Sat 1 May
2021 18.00 BST
When will
William and Kate admit that the Harry and Meghan hoo-ha has been great for
them? As the dust storms continue to billow from the Oprah Winfrey interview,
presumably the Sussexes are exactly where they want to be, generating big-bucks
deals (Netflix/Spotify/“wellness”) from their £11m property in Montecito, Santa
Barbara. However, hasn’t it also been rather good for the Cambridges? They
appear to have morphed from a rather drab, stiff, prematurely middle-aged
couple into a veritable beacon of royal decorum cum quasi-middle-class decency.
There’s a palpable feeling that the media/public – leastways, the royalist
media/public – is behind them like never before, applauding their every move.
Sure, it was always so, but, post-Oprah, there’s been a tangible turbo-boosting
of the Cambridges’ profile. Call it what it is: a pushback.
Cue last
week’s video celebrating their 10th anniversary. Any other couple forcing
others to celebrate their decade-long tru luv would have you demanding a bucket
to retch into. The snarky Brit temperament being what it is, some might even
ask: “What’s with all the PDA – are you guys getting a divorce?” But this was
no public display of affection, it was marketing and the Cambridges are
suddenly getting very good at it. Maybe even better than You Know Who.
Devoted
smiles. Frolicking children in wellingtons. Marshmallows toasting on an open
fire… In one way, it came across like a really weird Shirley Hughes children’s
story (“Daddy is cross today because Uncle Harry has behaved badly”). In
another, a John Lewis advert selling nothing, though, in truth, the Cambridges
were hard-selling themselves.
And why
shouldn’t they? This year has been grim. William spoke out against the serious
racism claims in the Oprah interview, but the Cambridges suffered other
indignities in silence (the story about Catherine making Meghan weep over
bridesmaid dresses; the resurrection of “Waity Katie”). Though even at an
occasion as sombre as Prince Philip’s funeral, a photo of Catherine peering
over her mask had some combusting in excitement over “our future queen!”, while
a brief chat with Harry sparked obsequious overdrive about the Cambridges’
innate refinement.
So, yes,
it’s been rough but, ultimately, have the Cambridges had a good Megxit? The
recurring theme post-Oprah has been worship of the Cambridges (“the future of
the monarchy”) even beyond the usual sycophancy. Their popularity hasn’t only
gone nuclear, it’s turned binary: choose a side, cheer on your favoured couple
as if they were a football team. No more griping from the cheap seats about how
Harry would have been a more “fun” king. For their part, the Cambridges appear
to be actively colluding, offering themselves up as a fragrant, homegrown
alternative to the Sussexes. Would that video have happened in normal times or
could it be counted as a royal finger to Harry and Meghan?
So, perhaps
Megxit did them a favour – it was the thunderclap that woke them up. Every
strong brand needs a rival and the Cambridges appear to have found theirs.
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