Kate ‘shaken’ by public response to photo editing row as CNN reviews all Palace handouts
Independent
The Mother’s Day photo of Kate Middleton has exposed a public relations problem for the monarchy, an expert has said.
Public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski said: “There doesn’t seem to be that much joined up strategic thinking at the heart of the royal family at the moment, which leads to these problems where it’s a very difficult organisation to manage in terms of PR.”
He added: “It’s a nightmare, even the softer stories of Edward turning 60 this week haven’t really resonated at all because no one’s interested in them, they’re interested in the stars they’re not interested in the supporting cast and that is a problem at the moment. They are under pressure, massively under pressure, this is a massive own goal.”
Speaking about Kate’s statement, he said: “It’s plausible she’s at home playing with the computer and using an AI tool, but if they’re really going to regain any sort of trust they should release the unedited photo, it can’t be that bad if they just made a few tweaks.
“I find they have risen to the challenge, provided the statement as an explanation – the question is with all the conspiracy theories running around, is whether people believe it and I’m not sure that they will.”