Kate, the King and three other great challenges for royalty

The Royal Family has had a difficult start in 2024: uncertain in the face of health problems and surrounded by a wave of rumors and speculation.

So what will they have to do to get back on track? And what are some of the challenges they may need to address?

What’s going on with Kate?

Social networks cannot cope with an information vacuum. In WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok groups, the speculation about the Princess of Wales is deafening.

She has not been seen in public this year as she recovers from planned abdominal surgery. The explanation for her absence until the end of the year was reiterated this week by royal officials.

“Kensington Palace made clear in January the timeline for the princess’s recovery. We said we would only provide significant updates. That guidance remains.”

On the positive side, people are interested because they care. Indifference would be worse. And I predict a big change when the images finally appear, which they will, and there is a certain peace of mind.

Although it might raise some long-term questions about what people want from an adult relationship with royalty. No one should be expected to be as perfect as a human statue. We are all full of vulnerabilities. But that also means opening from the Palace.

Everyone has the right to privacy, but for public figures, especially those who receive public funding, there is a fine line between privacy and secrecy.

Part of the royals’ current problem is the accumulation of unknowns: Catherine’s illness. The nature of King Charles cancer. And then Prince William’s “personal matter” that kept him away from his godfather’s funeral.

It is an increasingly thick fog of uncertainties. And it gives more energy to online rumors. It’s the problem of providing small bits of information, enough to raise more questions and not enough to provide answers.

There is a bigger question about the secret of a modern monarchy. It needs some mystery to maintain its mystique. But opacity can seem like concealment.

Historians complain about excessive secrecy regarding archival documents. Should they be more willing to answer questions about their work? It seems strange that in 2024 they can go on visits or trips and not face a single question about what they are doing.

The absence of a decorative figure is a major difficulty for any institution. The King is undergoing cancer treatment and therefore it is understandable that he does not attend public events. Getting better has to be a priority for him and his family.

But there is still pressure to be visible. There is the old royal saying that “monarchy has to be seen to be believed.”

It reflects how periods of unpopularity for the monarchy have often been linked to being out of sight, such as when Queen Victoria, mourning the loss of Albert, withdrew from public life.

Expect more virtual appearances from the King, such as video messages and speeches or social media clips, as he was recently seen enjoying get well cards. There could also be more interventions, such as the declaration to rally support for Ukraine. His team will try to keep him in the headlines, even if he is out of sight and misses events.

It is also worth noting that in his case opinion polls showed that the majority of people thought that the right amount of information about his cancer had been disclosed. Only 13% expected more details, according to the YouGov survey.

Royals who don’t work, but are very visible

Prince Andrew is back on the front pages this week, which usually spells trouble for the royals.

He was heading to the funeral of King Constantine of Greece, leading what was the monarchy’s reserve team, and the newspapers accused him of hogging the spotlight too enthusiastically.

And it’s safe to predict he’ll be back in the headlines with next month’s Netflix film about his 2019 Newsnight interview, which would be the headline exhibit if there were a museum of car crash interviews.

All those questions about Jeffrey Epstein, Virginia Giuffre and Woking pizzas are coming back to haunt the royals. It has become the boomerang of bad news.

In very different circumstances, Prince Harry is another long-standing unresolved tension for the royals. There has never been an adequate solution to his situation. The position since he moved to the US has been “not half royal”. But he remains almost like a rival court, a prince over water, a restless royal.

The Royal Family depends on being a unifying force, which is difficult anyway in such a polarized era, but even more difficult when it seems to be a family at odds with itself.

Although, for a more positive view, I’ve heard people say that being a dysfunctional family is the only thing that makes royalty seem like everyone else.

The royals have a youth problem. Or more specifically, a problem of lack of youth. That was even more painfully visible this week without William and Catherine as the royals gathered for the memorial service in Windsor. They seemed older and more fragile. Not to mention paler.

What makes this a bigger problem is its lack of appeal to younger people, which is a consistent message across multiple surveys. There is clearly a big challenge for the monarchy: not to appear or appear out of touch. How can they find a lighter, more entertaining touch?

Even reaching younger audiences is difficult for a real operation that still focuses on traditional television news and newspaper front pages, which are increasingly unlikely to reach younger audiences. Everything gets a little creaky.

And if the era of deference is over, how should a modern monarchy speak to the people?

After a miserable winter, the royals must be hoping for some spring sunshine.