Royal Family Engaged in 'Battle for Airwaves,' Says PR Expert

Prince William's decision to appear on "The Graham Norton Show" signals a shift in royal strategy, driven by a perceived "battle for public attention" with his brother, Prince Harry, says PR expert Mark Borkowski.

Borkowski suggests William's unprecedented chat show appearance is a riposte to the sustained media presence of Harry and Meghan since their return to the UK. This move, he believes, marks an abandonment of traditional royal protocol, which historically emphasized maintaining mystique by staying above public feuds.

"When the late Queen was alive, she maintained the Royal mystique by staying above all this kind of stuff, just releasing the odd cleverly-worded statement here and there," Borkowski told the Daily Mail. "But that has now changed... It looks petulant, it looks like sibling rivalry, Cain and Abel, whatever."

He characterized William's appearance, ostensibly to discuss the Earthshot Prize, as a potential "misstep." According to Borkowski, engaging in a "PR war" means one has already "lost," and the royal family's traditional strength has been to "say nothing, don't complain, just carry on and do what you need to do."

The PR guru also commented on Prince Harry's media strategy, suggesting he appears "desperate" to be welcomed back but is mismanaging his approach. "Harry's just not very bright and it shows that he and Meghan haven't got much wisdom at the core of their comms," Borkowski stated. He described their strategy as "noise, noise, noise," urging that the counter to this is to "rise above it."

Recent media instances cited as "noise" include Harry and Meghan's children's school change, complaints about paparazzi, and an interview with GQ. It was in this GQ interview, published just two days before William's chat show appearance, that Harry reportedly reopened rifts with his family, suggesting William and others "don't want it to work out."

During his appearance, William touched on more personal topics, including his enjoyment of "The Traitors" and his past ambitions of being a DJ or a police officer. He also discussed his work with the Earthshot Prize, an initiative he founded in 2020.

William's interview was part of a period of heightened media activity for the royal family. Harry and Meghan's recent visit to Nottingham garnered significant global coverage, overshadowing other planned royal engagements. For instance, on the same day as their unofficial appearance, Prince William welcomed Jordanian royals, and the King hosted a science and business event, both receiving considerably less media attention.

An online poll by the Daily Mail indicated that 71% of readers believed Prince William's appearance on "The Graham Norton Show" made the royals "more relatable."