How the Media Covered Kate Middleton's Video
Themes that emerged and the pushback the glossy health update video received
Catherine, Princess of Wales’s health update video finally gave the famine-stricken British media something to report on. And feast they did.
Most of the coverage is—as expected. There’s only so far one can go with their criticism of the future King and Queen without repercussions.
We did see some cracks in the foundation though—a little more pushback than usual—which might be on account of the fact that they posted this video through their IG and not an official channel, like the BBC. Or, as many have commented, a sit-down interview. If the point was to give a health update—did this glossy video—which I have to admit, my initial reaction is not where I stand now—accomplish that?
There were themes to the British media coverage that I want to discuss here and WHY these narratives are being pushed.
If you’re new here you’ll hear me discuss the Royal Rota a lot—the press pack that attends official engagements by the Royal Family. The Royal Rota is incorrectly used as a catch-all for any royal reporting. That simply isn’t true. There are about a dozen members of the Royal Rota—virtually every outlet is a newspaper or tabloid in the U.K. with hardcopy circulation. So, the coverage you are going to see here is from outlets in the Royal Rota, but more importantly, primarily the Royal Rota editors or representatives of each paper.
Laying the Groundwork: Initial Catherine, Princess of Wales’ Pieces
Every outlet has a story they’ll run—typically from their Royal Editors with other journalists assisting—that gives the broad-strokes of what’s happened and provides a launching pad for follow-up stories.
Here’s one of them from The Daily Mail and their Royal Editor—who happens to be the Domestic Royal Rota Captain:
The language in the headline lets you know how the paper is going to frame the event. And that’s not to say that it isn’t—obviously—marvelous that she has completed chemo or that the first article is the place to lay out your questions and concerns with how this information was disseminated. Here’s a follow up piece:
Good God it sounds like my impassioned defense of the Spice Girls and their longevity to my father in the ‘90s (Ginger left a few month later). The “lack of tech” is not what “cynics”—or some may call—critics, independent thinkers, etc.—took issue with. Not to mention that OF COURSE there was no technology around, they were on a shoot! Can you imagine a shot of everyone lounging on the couch, with their respective devices, engaged in parallel play? Now that’s relatable.
But that is one of the expected reactionary themes from the Royal Rota. Defend and confuse genuine questions and critique with hate for monarchy. What did this video actually convey about Kate’s health? How were the visuals and words aligned and relatable to people struggling with major illness
That defense extends into another familiar refrain: William and Kate are totally fine.