LONDON: A slick video by Catherine, Princess of Wales announcing that her chemotherapy has finished marks a dramatic shift in communications for the British royal family, media and commentators said Tuesday. Kate, as she is widely known, posted the three-minute footage on social media on Tuesday, some six months after she dramatically revealed in another video that she was being treated for the condition.

But the intimate portrait of the 42-year-old princess, her husband Prince William and their young children was notable for its departure from the stiff formality of traditional royal public relations. “It’s groundbreaking, an absolute first, a tectonic shift in how the royal family controls its image,” said PR consultant Mark Borkowski. “Kate’s journey is profound and deeply personal, but they’ve learned that emotion can be controlled — and weaponized — in small, potent doses. “By doing this through a polished film, they maintain dignity and control while still appearing relatable.”

The Times likened the video, shot by filmmaker Will Warr in the Norfolk countryside of eastern England where the family has a home, to a Hollywood trailer for the Instagram generation. The daily assessed it was “the most intimate portrayal of royal family since (Queen Elizabeth II) invited a fly-on-the-wall documentary crew into her home in 1969”. “In 40 years of covering the Royal Family I have never seen anything like Catherine’s video. It’s a first for the royals,” veteran photographer Arthur Edwards wrote in The Sun tabloid.

Taking control

Newspapers sought to decode the meaning behind the soft-focus scenes of the young family seeking solace in nature and enjoying each other’s company. Many saw in it a clear sign that the princess, who will be queen when William succeeds his father King Charles III, was carefully attempting to control the narrative of her illness. “She’s the one in the driving seat,” said The Times, while Jennie Bond, a former BBC royal correspondent, said she was “putting down her marker” for the future. “This is how she wants to communicate with people,” she told Sky News. “With this she has shown she wants to be straight with people, she wants to be direct, she wants the message to be quite simple.”

The largely positive public response to the video comes after criticism of Kensington Palace, the couple’s private office, and its handling of communications about Kate’s illness this year. Speculation ran riot, especially online, after Kate — one of the world’s most photographed women — was not seen in public for months following abdominal surgery in January.

An attempt to silence the rumors failed in March, when a family portrait, issued by the palace, was found to have been digitally altered, fueling the chatter. Kate’s announcement that she was being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer followed soon afterwards, prompting widespread public sympathy and support. Borkowski said the latest video, and Kate’s commentary accompanying it, showed the royal family was now “on the front foot”. “They lost control of the cancer narrative by staying silent,” he added. “It shows they learnt from earlier mistakes,” he added.

Like other senior royals, William and Kate have a strong social media presence, which is seen as essential to maintain the British royal family’s relevance and appeal. Since the late queen’s death, Charles has faced vocal protests from republicans who want an elected head of state instead of a hereditary monarch, and a decline in support among younger people.

Royal author Robert Jobson, who has recently published a new biography on Kate, told reporters in London that accountability and transparency was “very important” for the taxpayer-funded royals. But he said Kate’s full return to public duties could still take time as she seeks to fully recover. According to The Sun, William, on a visit to Wales on Tuesday, told well-wishers that the end of Kate’s chemotherapy was “good news” but added: “There is still a long way to go.” — AFP