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The British royal family\u2019s longtime approach to the public can be summed up as, \u201cnever complain, never explain.\u201d Over centuries, this public relations strategy has generally served them well,\u00a0maintaining the royals\u2019 prim and proper appearance and general goodwill among the public. But as questions and conspiracy theories<\/a> about Kate Middleton pile up, the strategy of silence is now backfiring, and observers around the world have started to make up their own narratives about the Princess of Wales\u2019 health and whereabouts.<\/p>\n With Kate out of the spotlight and Kensington Palace refusing to comment on the authenticity or recency of photos of the princess that have appeared in the press, distrust in the royal family<\/a> has grown.The lack of an official narrative has left room for onlookers to craft their own theories about what\u2019s going on behind closed doors\u2014going against many of the golden rules of PR and communications strategy, experts say.<\/p>\n \u201cThe royal family\u2019s motto is the one thing working against them right now,\u201d Beth Booker, founder and publicist at Gracie PR<\/a>, tells Fortune<\/em>. \u201cNever complain and never explain\u2014it only works when your audience trusts you. Right now, trust in the royal family is nearly nonexistent. Without trust in the institution itself, in members of the royal family, and in the royal family as a whole, and as long as that remains to be true, that approach will continue to backfire on them.\u201d<\/p>\n In mid-January, Kensington Palace released a statement saying that the Princess of Wales would be off from royal duties until Easter (the last weekend of March) for \u201cplanned abdominal surgery.\u201d But conspiracy theories started flooding the internet in the following weeks as online observers started to question the legitimacy of Kate\u2019s leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, tabloids and other media outlets released a photo of Kate out-and-about in the car with her mother, Carole Middleton, to make it appear as if she was in good health. But online followers quickly pointed out inconsistencies and argued that the photo wasn\u2019t actually of Kate.\u00a0<\/p>\n The big event that got many folks on the #KateGate train was when Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate and her three children<\/a> (Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5) for U.K. Mother\u2019s Day on March 10. Major media outlets picked up the photo, including the Associated Press, which quickly took down the photo in an infamous \u201ckill notification,\u201d<\/a> because the photo appeared to have been altered. The following day, Kensington Palace posted on X<\/a> that Kate had Photoshopped the photo, but many online observers didn\u2019t buy that.\u00a0<\/p>\n More photos and videos of Kate surfaced after the Mother\u2019s Day post. The Daily Mail<\/em> released a photo<\/a> of Kate and William in a car, but the photo was particularly blurry and showed only the back of Kate\u2019s head, leading people to believe this photo had also been manipulated.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this week,The Sun<\/em> released a video<\/a> earlier this week of Kate and William leaving a market with a caption indicating the princess looked \u201crelaxed and happy on a shopping trip with devoted hubby William.\u201d Yet again, online observers questioned this video, arguing that the woman isn\u2019t actually Kate. Outlets examining the metadata associated with the video have come up with opposite conclusions about the time it was created<\/a>. Other outlets have also reported that Kensington Palace won\u2019t confirm<\/a> the legitimacy of the video, only fueling more speculation about what\u2019s really going on with Kate.<\/p>\n The palace hasn\u2019t \u201cgiven the public enough proof to trust in them, leading to conspiracy theories and speculation around the globe,\u201d Booker says. \u201cThey are letting the crisis they created grow in silence, which is the worst thing you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n To avoid addressing controversies and allegations goes against standard crisis PR and communications standards, Katya Varbanova, CEO of London-based brand marketing firm Viral Marketing Stars<\/a>, tells Fortune<\/em>. While it does go against the royal family\u2019s \u201cnever complain, never explain\u201d to address controversies, \u201cthere are exceptions to all rules,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever there are rumors that are unfounded and baseless, it makes sense to stay silent and \u2018never explain,\u2019\u201d Varbanova says. But \u201cwhenever there are mistakes directly from the royal family [such as] doctored photos, it becomes an issue of trust and reliability, not of complaining or explaining rumors. What are they hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n Other PR professionals see merit in the royal family\u2019s motto, however. Samantha Jacobson, founder and CEO of TenXPR<\/a>, says she agrees with their stance and that the palace is handling the situation correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to always explain everything to the media,\u201d she says. Some things \u201cshould be off-limits and have boundaries for anyone in the public eye. When you start explaining it leads to other questions and you have opened yourself up to public scrutiny and invasion of privacy.\u201d She says their strategy also continues to build more interest in the family, and \u201cat the end of the day, the royal family is a brand and they do have to keep the public interested in their every move.\u201d<\/p>\n Either way, it\u2019s still not too late to address the situation, Varbanova says. \u201cWhen Kate Middleton is back, they could restore that trust with the right public statement that takes accountability and has a reasonable explanation,\u201d she says. \u201cBut if they don\u2019t address it at all, it can lead to permanent reputation damage and mistrust.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nBack up\u2014what\u2019s going on with Kate Middleton?<\/h2>\n
The problem with not addressing the public<\/h2>\n
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