Amanda Platell, a Daily Mail columnist, urged Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, to adopt a more visible and populist approach after what she described as Prince Harry’s successful, high-energy visit to Britain and abroad. In a column published Sept. 12, 2025, Platell said William and Kate had become the "Prince and Princess of Boring" and that their reticence could leave them vulnerable to criticism from within the royal family and the wider public.
Platell framed her argument around Harry’s four-day visit earlier this month, which she said brought "laughter and joy" to royal coverage and produced widely seen images of him engaging informally with children and staff. She contrasted those scenes with what she called the more sober public work of the Waleses, noting William’s role chairing a conference in Cardiff for World Suicide Prevention Day and Kate’s attendance at textile factory events.
Platell’s column also referenced reporting by royal biographer Tina Brown on her Fresh Hell Substack, which the column said claims King Charles is currently "less irritated" by Prince Harry than by William. Brown, as cited in the column, alleged tensions between the King and the Prince of Wales over the latter’s public workload and style, and she supplied figures comparing recent days of official engagements: 175 days for the King in the past year versus 107 for William and 37 for Kate. The column attributed to Brown the contention that the King views some comments by William about giving his children a "normal family life" as a subtle dig at the monarch’s own parenting.
Platell also drew attention to aspects of Harry’s schedule beyond Britain, recalling a surprise visit to Ukraine where, she wrote, he promised to extend rehabilitation opportunities to injured civilians and service personnel through initiatives inspired by the Invictus Games. The column noted that Harry’s brief visit was followed, according to Platell, by private meetings with the King that Harry had reportedly asked to remain confidential.
The column acknowledged sensitivities surrounding the Waleses’ private life, including a reference to Kate’s ongoing recovery from cancer treatment, and cited Brown’s reporting that the Wales family took several holidays in recent months while the King has continued to undertake public duties during his own cancer treatment. Platell wrote that Harry’s public-facing tour was strong in PR terms and said it posed a public relations challenge for William.
Platell’s column also cited a recent survey — described in the piece as the "latest survey" — that it said showed public support for the monarchy has fallen from around 86 percent in the 1980s to roughly half of respondents today, characterizing the decline as context for why royal public engagement and image matter.
The column was opinion journalism and attributed claims about family tensions and engagement counts to Brown’s Substack and to Platell’s interpretation of recent events. Commentators and analysts differ on how much impact short public tours have on broader public attitudes toward the monarchy, and officials within the royal household did not comment in the column.
Platell closed with a personal caveat about Prince Harry’s motives and a warning to William and Kate to change course; those views appear in the piece as the columnist’s assessment rather than as reporting of new facts. The column appeared amid continuing public interest in the royal family’s roles and workloads as the household balances public duties, private health matters and differing approaches to media engagement.