Prince William’s ‘Major Blunder’ After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah Interview
TL;DR:
- Prince William spoke publicly about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview after it aired, saying, “We’re very much not a racist family.”
- A PR expert called it a “major blunder” on Prince William’s part because it contradicted the royal family “expectation” of silence.
- Prince William has not commented on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle looked back on their 2021 Oprah interview — and other events of the last few years — in their six-part Netflix docuseries. While he’s remained silent on Harry & Meghan, Prince William commented on the Oprah interview after it aired in what an expert called a “major blunder.”
Prince William responded to claims made in Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview 3 days after it aired
In the wake of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah interview, the royal family didn’t exactly follow the motto “never complain, never explain.” Not only did Buckingham Palace respond with an, albeit brief, statement two days after the TV special aired but the now-Prince of Wales said a few words.
On March 11, 2021, two days following the palace’s statement and four after the interview aired stateside, William and his wife, Kate Middleton, visited a London school. During the visit, William, in a rare move, answered a TV reporter’s questions.
“Is the royal family a racist family, sir?” the reporter asked to which William replied, “We’re very much not a racist family.” Asked whether he’d talked to his brother since the Oprah interview aired, William said, “No, I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I will do.”
William’s public response came after Harry and Meghan alleged racist comments came from within the royal family.
Prince William broke the royal family’s ‘noble silence’ when he commented on the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Oprah interview, expert says
According to crisis expert and chief executive of PR agency Go Up, Edward Coram James, it was a misstep for William to engage with the TV reporter.
“From a purely reputational point of view, when William said, ‘We’re not racist,’ I thought that was a major blunder [from] him and his PR team,” he said (via Newsweek).
“In a crisis, any famous person or famous brand, you’d expect them to give a statement and if they didn’t give a statement you’d expect them to be slaughtered for it,” he said.
However, as he explained, that’s not necessarily the case with the royal family.
“For the royals, they’ve managed to flip that on its head,” the crisis management expert continued. “The expectation is they’ll stay silent. By remaining silent, there’s a real strength in that. Not only does it give the impression of rising above the fray, it also gives the impression of just being the grown-ups in the room while at the same time not confirming or denying the allegations.”
By speaking publicly, William “almost gave unnecessary air time” to the Harry and Meghan Oprah interview,” he told Newsweek. Thereby, the now-40-year-old “only increased the headlines and broke that ‘noble silence’ thing they do and made him appear to climb back into the fray.”
Prince William hasn’t commented on the ‘Harry & Meghan’ Netflix docuseries
It seems William’s staying tight-lipped on the latest of Harry and Meghan’s sit-down interviews. He has yet to respond publicly to the Netflix doc after the final installments dropped on Dec. 15.
At the time of writing, William, nor King Charles III, has spoken publicly about Harry & Meghan. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, their respective offices, have also not released any statements in response.
