William, Kate and his royal sweetness Prince George had a rest day yesterday. They expected just one Monday of privacy to frolic around the grounds of the governor-general’s place in Canberra like a normal family. But despite those wishes, the royal trio were filmed and photographed without knowing it.
Kensington Palace (the Royal Family Headquarters) was not pleased. Not pleased at all. Palace officials reportedly warned the Aussie media not to publish any intimate photographs taken yesterday, and requested that news stations not broadcast the footage. They’re screaming “royal privacy breach!”
But, the temptation of those beautiful photos was too much. Last night, various TV stations ran video of Wills and Kate holding hands, strolling along in jeans and jumpers, having what they thought was a private couple moment. There’s footage of Kate Middleton cradling little George, singing “Row row row your boat” to him in her lap. There’s a photo of Kate doing a little jog and clicking her heels together in the air with happiness.
There are enough cute-but-invasive photos to fill a royal family album – not that Queen Elizabeth would approve this time. Just like she didn’t approve when Women’s Day decided to publish those topless photographs of the Duchess taken on their holiday in France in 2012 – Remember that?
The Royals have strict rules about unauthorized photographs, but there’s little they can really do to enforce them here. An upturning of the royal nose is about as severe as it can get.
In England, it’d be illegal to take photos with a long-distance lens on private property like this – but we don’t actually have those laws here. Taking photos of the Royals during private moments is simply… informally frowned upon. So, Palace officials had to admit that all Aussie media do technically have the right to run with the photos.
An aide from the palace said: “We were just anxious that it didn’t turn into a circus. We would rather the pictures weren’t taken but it was no more than a gentle request. All we said was that it would be quite nice if they were given a bit of space on their day off.”
But isn’t it already a circus, the spectacle of the royal family visit? Hasn’t the presence of those three royals already dominated our news cycle? And truly, isn’t the whole point of their being here at all, to promote the royal fam as accessible, attainable, and relatable? (With a subtle “hint hint, nudge nudge, keep the monarchy around Australians, or you’ll never see Prince George’s cheeks again”).
The royal visit is a tightly controlled, deftly planned exercise in royal PR – designed this time to humanize the monarchy and win our hearts and minds by cuddling koalas, ogling our harbour views, visiting our sacred indigenous sites, and putting our local fashion on parade. So, do the royal family really have a right to get pissed off, just because we’ve reclaimed control by publishing photos they didn’t pre-approve? And aren’t these gorgeous family pics exactly what they’d want us all to see? It’s the most adorable photographic evidence of a loving, sweet, devoted little fam we have to date – surely that can’t be detrimental to the grand purpose of popularizing the royals again.
Really, it comes down to the question of celebrity. If the Royals are in the same category as celebrities, then do they forego their rights to privacy by appearing in public all the time? Or, like Kristen Bell and Dax Sherphard, do they deserve the right to protect their child from paparazzi when they want or need to?
Here’s the Royal tour so far… With photos the Queen would approve…
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Top Comments
They could take a private holiday, don't advertise, pay for it themselves, and have privacy.
You get what you pay for.