{"id":4524,"date":"2024-10-29T19:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/?p=4524"},"modified":"2024-10-29T15:58:17","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T15:58:17","slug":"kate-and-williams-bid-to-rival-harry-and-meghan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/2024\/10\/29\/kate-and-williams-bid-to-rival-harry-and-meghan\/","title":{"rendered":"Kate and William\u2019s \u2018bid to rival Harry and Meghan\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Kate and William\u2019s \u2018bid to rival Harry and Meghan\u2019 <\/span><\/h1>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”intro-wrap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#808080″ text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Prince William’s upcoming Disney+ documentary could be read as an attempt to keep pace with Prince Harry.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Words by Nikki Peach<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/10\/imago768428477-scaled.jpg” alt=”Jennifer Aniston” title_text=”. 09\/10\/2024. London, United Kingdom. Prince William at an event in London co-hosted by Bafta and the Royal African Soci” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

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It might not have landed the way they\u2019d planned, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle\u2019s 2022 Netflix documentary series gave the couple unprecedented autonomy over their image. Two years later, it looks like Harry\u2019s older brother is lifting from the same playbook \u2013 and no doubt hoping for better results.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prince William\u2019s two-part documentary,\u00a0<\/span>Prince William: We Can End Homelessness<\/i>, has been picked up by Disney+ and sees the heir to the throne launch his Royal Foundation\u2019s Homewards program in which he aims to end homelessness in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Prince of Wales and Homewards take their mission to six different locations in the UK, with William ultimately opting to build supported housing on royal land. It debuts on Disney+ on 1 November after first airing on ITV.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not all business and philanthropy. In the documentary, which has been produced by Louis Theroux\u2019s production company Mindhouse, William also speaks about Harry and shares memories of his mother Princess Diana taking them to a homeless centre in London when they were children.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a preview he says, \u2018My mother took me to The Passage [homeless shelter], she took Harry and I both there. I must have been 11 at the time, maybe 10. I had never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious about what to expect.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The series is certainly a shift away from royal protocol and another marked attempt to modernise the family\u2019s image. Gone are the days of \u2018never complain, never explain\u2019, which were masterfully pedalled by the late Queen Elizabeth II during her 70-year reign. We are now firmly in an age driven by relatability, Silicon Valley streaming figures and \u2018content\u2019 \u2013 and it looks like the British royals are attempting to carve out a space for themselves in this landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

‘The series is a shift away from royal protocol and another marked attempt to modernise the family’s image’<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]
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On 9 September, Kate Middleton announced she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and was cancer free, not with a written statement or an interview with a news channel, but with an artfully produced three-minute social media video shot in the woods and meadows of Norfolk.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the short film, the Prince and Princess of Wales were at their least formal, all three of their children were seen making faces and playing games, and the couple were uncharacteristically affectionate with one another. Kate, for her part, detailed her \u2018path to healing\u2019 and her \u2018new perspective\u2019 in the narration, and called for fellow cancer patients to look for light \u2018out of darkness\u2019.<\/p>\n

It’s not unreasonable to call this approach revolutionary. The idea of Queen Elizabeth or King Charles doing anything remotely similar feels almost preposterous. It is, and noticeably so, far more similar to what we\u2019re used to seeing from Harry and Meghan.<\/p>\n

Since they moved to California in March 2020, the former senior royals have made several attempts to reclaim their public image and appear relatable to a global audience \u2013 arguably a fool\u2019s errand for the aristocracy.<\/p>\n

They released an ill-fated podcast series on Spotify, a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, a four-part Netflix series about their experiences in the royal family and Meghan has launched her own \u2018Riviera Orchard\u2019 lifestyle brand. While still widely scrutinised, their new approach to publicity and branding appears more in line with the life they are building in the states.<\/p>\n

Kate\u2019s video and William\u2019s Disney+ documentary, then, could be read as an attempt to keep pace. It\u2019s no secret that the reticent, stiff-upper-lipped image the royal family have maintained for generations feels increasingly antiquated to a lot of people. We have become accustomed to knowing public figures on a more personal level \u2013 even if that insight is still carefully curated and occasionally dishonest \u2013 and the younger royals are cognisant of that.<\/p>\n

The future King and Queen\u2019s pivot towards a more informal, \u2018normal\u2019 public image has been welcomed by a lot of their supporters. Under Disney+\u2019s X post about William\u2019s upcoming documentary, several social media users have said they \u2018cannot wait\u2019 to tune in, with one person writing \u2018thank you for making it possible to watch this from Australia\u2019.<\/p>\n

The global demand is there for these royal forays into the world of streaming \u2013 regardless of whether it\u2019s fuelled by admiration, curiosity or disdain. The risk, then, is how much good they actually do for their respective images. Netflix might not have done Harry and Meghan any favours, but that has not deterred William.<\/p>\n

As for whether his Disney+ documentary\u00a0<\/i>truly indicates a new era for the way working royals present themselves, as always, it hinges on the audience\u2019s response.<\/p>\n<\/div>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Photo: <\/b>IMAGO<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kate Middleton\u2019s cancer-free video and William\u2019s Disney+ documentary could be read as an attempt to keep pace with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4524"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4551,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4524\/revisions\/4551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}