Vine: The Waleses’ coronation video feels like manipulative political propaganda

A week after the coronation, the Prince and Princess of Wales started doing the most to make everything about them. One could argue that they did the same at the coronation too, especially when they showed up late and made King Charles wait in one of his gold carriages. Since then, William and Kate have released behind-the-scenes fancams of their Chubbly activities and then they released an actual substance-less “commercial” for their coronation activities. The commercial barely featured the king and queen. All of which led the Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine to wonder: “Wasn’t the coronation about Charles and Camilla? All we’ve seen are William and Kate, wafting through KP in Hollywood-style videos… all, dare I say it, a bit manipulative. I’d (almost) rather watch one of Harry’s worthy documentaries.” Yeah, Vine is a POS, but it’s always interesting when she turns her hatred onto Will and Kate. Some highlights:

Correct me if I’m mistaken, but wasn’t the Coronation about King Charles and Queen Camilla? This video featuring the Prince and Princess of Wales and their charming children, seems a teeny-tiny bit premature. Don’t get me wrong, we adore them. In particular, the Princess of Wales is, at every turn, the picture of perfection – impeccably turned-out, stunningly beautiful, stylish – as this short film reminds the world.

Prince William, meanwhile, is the very image of Royal duty. Striding manfully on to the stage at the Windsor Castle concert, pledging his allegiance to his father, putting a protective paw around his wife’s willowy waist, assisting his children. Showman, statesman, husband, dad. Hurrah!

It’s lovely, and they really are an idyllic family – but there’s something just a bit too slick about it, a bit too party political broadcast. A bit, dare I say it, manipulative.

Was the Hollywood-style video really necessary? We all know that William and Kate are the future. Nobody doubts that. Charles is an old king, coming to the throne in his twilight years.

Nevertheless, this was his and Queen Camilla’s moment, not theirs. By starring in a video produced by a man who boasts about having ‘a portfolio of world-leading clients’ and creating ‘story-led branded content’, it feels… well, a bit ‘look at me’.

There is an element of Netflix-style narcissism that makes me slightly uneasy. And though the footage shows us a lot, it actually tells us very little about the Waleses. It’s superficial, one-dimensional, like one of those adverts you see on TV in foreign hotels extolling the virtues of this or that tourist destination.

I hate to say it, but I’d almost rather watch one of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s worthy wildlife docs. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe this is exactly what everyone wants to see – the Princess of Wales up close in slow motion, from as many different angles as possible.

[From The Daily Mail]

There’s something vaguely “‘I never thought leopards would eat MY face,’ sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party” about this. For years, Kate and William have been relentlessly embiggened, praised and used as cudgels, all because they prioritized style over substance, all because they stayed small-c conservative and big-c Conservative. This is exactly what Sarah Vine and the Daily Mail said they wanted: two dull, lazy, charisma-free Tory stooges who expect to be praised for doing the bare minimum. Now that their lack of substance and their superficiality is being laid bare on a daily basis, suddenly it’s a problem? Suddenly, people are realizing that they’re stuck with two bored narcissistic 40-somethings who refuse to DO anything at all?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.