William and Kate must drop the Palace’s “outdated” no-comment response to Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir to prevent further damage to the monarchy, crisis managers have warned.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have adopted a “keep calm and carry on” strategy, according to royal experts, refusing to comment on the series of allegations made by the Duke of Sussex as revealed by the early publication of his upcoming memoir Spare and in interviews ahead of its official release.
Although insiders expressed “exasperation and weariness” at Harry’s latest salvo, senior royals have tried to rise above the claims by showing that they are “getting on with the job”, PR experts said.
However, that “no-comment” approach is becoming unsustainable, particularly for Prince William, who comes under sustained attack in the book amid claims that he struck his brother, the experts said.
“William and Kate need to override their press team’s outdated ‘no comment’ approach. The accusations are simply too big to ignore,” Carla Speight, talent manager and communications adviser, told i.
“Queen Elizabeth’s approach was always stoic consistency, but even she knew when to break the old-fashioned PR strategy and show her human side – for example, when Diana passed away,” Ms Speight added.
“The reality facing the Cambridges now is that they have to follow the late Queen’s example of showing their human side whilst remaining in a place of authority.
“I can’t see their popularity lasting much longer if they continue to refuse to address this PR catastrophe.”
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Royal author Tina Brown, who wrote The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, said the Royals’ “never complain, never explain” motto was becoming more difficult to maintain.
“It’s always a disaster when they do try to go on television and explain. So somehow they have to keep calm and carry on as they always have – but they can’t really create a counter narrative to what Harry’s doing because they don’t really have the tools to do it,” she told the BBC.
The Sussexes’ narrative is now widely accepted as the truth in the US, she added, but there was also “enough self-sabotage” from Harry in his book to “dent” his popularity abroad.
Sean Coughlan, BBC royal correspondent, said the Palaces’ tactic had been to “avoid getting dragged into the mud-slinging and hoping that the controversy would burn itself out.”
“But there is a difference in that this book is far more wide-ranging and harder-hitting. After Prince Harry’s claim about being attacked by his brother, how easy will it be for them to appear together, perhaps in a few months at the coronation of their father?”
Mr Coughlan added: “It’s a difficult balancing act for the palace officials. Don’t respond and the only version in front of the public is Harry’s. And if they do respond, it could lead to difficult denials and counter-claims about very personal matters.”
Royal biographer Andrew Morton said the revelations in Harry’s book are damaging, since Diana always wanted Harry to be a “back-up” to William.
“She wanted Harry to be William’s wingman, not as we’ve seen his hitman and I think that is a real conundrum for the Royal Family going forward.”