My perspective on Prince William’s Cape Town trip was that it was boring, unmemorable and a net neutral rather than a total flop. Like, people weren’t even paying attention to William or the trip either way, to boo him or to praise him. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see how much the British media hated everything about the trip and how they seem to have turned on him this month. Tina Brown’s Substack column – in which she called him a “performative pinhead” who needed Prince Harry to come back to “take him down a PEG” – was widely amplified in the British media. Then came William and Kate’s boring, tired and weird appearances at the Remembrance events, and then King Charles went solo to the Gladiator premiere. For monarchists, it feels like the wheels have come off. It feels like the Windsors are no longer glamorous or interesting or noteworthy whatsoever. Historian/commentator Tessa Dunlop recently spoke about how the distinct lack of glamour is ruining the monarchy.
For royal historian and expert Dr Tessa Dunlop, Charles’s solo appearance at the premiere and William’s small-r royal trip to South Africa shone a huge spotlight on how much has changed lately for the royals – especially since the memorably glamorous Bond premiere back in 2021.
She explained to the Mirror : “He was up against Gladiatorial men, (squaring up to Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal is no mean feat) but the King looked inescapably alone on the red carpet in Leicester Square last night. There was no retro glamour, no tinsel, no tiaras. Even Camilla (still battling a nasty chest infection), was missing. To compensate, I longed for the King to wear an ermine gown, or pop a crown on his head. Instead, he dutifully made his way down the line of stellar names. That fabulous ‘No Time to Die’ Bond premiere when Camilla and Kate waltzed out in a haze of designer sequins felt like a world away. One small glimpse of the Princess of Wales in Remembrance black on Sunday was a painful reminder of what we are missing.”
“There is a vacuum at the top and the problem with vacuums is that they invite all sorts of unwanted intruders. The royal machine has clearly decided that they can compensate for a depleted public presence with relentless philanthropy on ITV. This is definitely William’s happy space – Earthshot speeches and homeless documentaries are his version of royalty with a small ‘r’. But royalty needs to be careful. The public will tolerate a bit of charitable hectoring but only if accompanied with a large dollop of fairytale glamour.”
And with the potential for a glitzy and glamour vacuum to form according to Tessa, there are two people who she says could easily fill it. She added: “The Royal Family might think they are above such glitzy gimmicks. That would be a mistake. After all, waiting in the wings are ex-royals the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Instinctively glamourous with bundles of razzmatazz, the Californian couple have an effortless knack for combining showbiz-gloss and public do-gooding. Already estranged from the House of Windsor, Trump returning to the White House gives them another excuse to regroup, with a new house in Portugal the perfect launch pad for a European offensive. William beware! It would never do for the royal brand to be upstaged.”
Tina Brown’s Substack piece was all about how the Sussexes need to be brought back into the fold so they can do all of William’s work. Dunlop’s commentary is that the Sussexes are a million times more glamorous than the left-behind Windsors and that William needs to watch his ass because he’s being regularly overshadowed. The mood has definitely shifted. It feels like people are trying to get through to William, that wandering around looking like a hairy egg isn’t cutting it. But here’s my thing: what the hell is William supposed to do differently at this point? Kate is either on strike or William has made arrangements for Kate to be less visible on a permanent basis. Are they trying to encourage him to get a divorce and marry someone glamorous? LOL.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.