Dark clouds are gathering for the royal family after the recent jubilee, and there is one person who will carry the weight of the approaching storm.
A concrete photo taken during the recent celebrations of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is truly stunning. It has been taken from the perspective of the balcony of Buckingham Palace, looking back at the mall.
Tens of thousands of people gather, having traveled to central London, awaiting the momentary appearance of Her Majesty and the royal family after Trooping the Color.
If ever there was an image that should warm the cockles of the hearts of the torn monarchs, or at least someone with a penchant for the enduring soap operas of the House of Windsor, it seemed that was it.
After the jubilee, after the adorable twist of Prince Louis ’stage robbery and massive national royal love, it seemed like the UK’s tourism industry could breathe a sigh of relief.
His number one drawing letter, the monarchy, was going well, thank you very much.
But what if that image of jubilant crowds at The Mall was a little furious? What if the actual position of the Crown right now is much more uncomfortable than anyone notices?
Take a closer look at the polls done over the last month or so about the different members of the royal family and the institution itself, and things take on a darker hue than can make you believe the whole spirit of Union Jack of the Jubilee.
Take the corgis hard: we will enter.
For starters, the fact that for the first time since YouGov started voting, most Britons say they are not proud of the monarchy, with a percentage that dropped from 57% in 2012 to 47% now.
Likewise, and again for the first time, more people reported that they do not believe that the monarchy will exist in a century compared to those who believe it will last.
In early June, more than half of respondents said they thought the monarchy had become less important under the queen.
Things seem even more disastrous when we reach the population aged 18 to 24, with just 23% of people in this age group saying they are proud of the monarchy.
Fewer young people report that they think the monarchy is good value for money. Just over a third (34%) believe they represent a good return on investment as opposed to 55% overall.
The most shocking downward change is this: in 2011, 60% of young people aged 18-24 thought the monarchy was a good thing for Britain; now that figure stands at 24 percent.
The situation becomes even more interesting when you break down who likes Millennials among the older members of the royal family.
Keep this in mind: Prince Harry has a higher approval score among millennials (51%) than all older working-class members of the royal family, apart from the Queen, William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
These are the kinds of bleak numbers that should be enough to keep any courtier worth his Mont Blanc awake at night, however, the person who will be most affected by this sad situation? The person who will take care of the consequences of this situation?
It’s Kate.
At some sad time in the not too distant future, there will be a change almost once in a century at the top, which will lead to the accession of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The man could have spent more than five long decades preparing for work, but with optimism he will only have 20 years at work at best.
Currently, Charles ’popularity among younger Britons is somewhere down there with gluten-free buns and Nigel Farage. (He is currently the 12th most popular member of the royal family after Princess Eugenia. That must hurt.)
It seems very unlikely that his reign will see a large increase in support for him or any impressive investment of fortune.
What this means, in turn, is that when William and Kate take over, the monarchy could very well be in a particularly bad way, meaning that all hope will rest directly in the Cambridges to get the monarchy off the edge. .
Not only is this a heavy responsibility and a psychological burden to bear, but it will practically require the duet, much appreciated, to go out in public with the kind of ubiquity of some desperate people. X factor runners-up with a new album to boost.
They will have to be there shaking hands, posing for selfies and embracing the audience to a degree that is rarely seen outside of an electorate oscillating near voting time.
If things continue in this current downward trajectory in terms of popularity and public support, especially when these young people between 18 and 24 years old begin to reach the 40s and occupy more prominent positions in the media, politics and society, this situation will require a sustained. the attack on royal public relations for years.
This campaign will not only require many of William and Kate themselves, but also their children. The royal workforce has declined markedly in recent years with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Andrew and, more recently, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent leaving the ranks of the which officially represent the queen. (Okay, the Kents only had a party in Buckingham Palace Garden from time to time and an official spin here and there, but each pair of soft hands helps.)
When the Cambridges are about to have to seriously learn the lines of the coronation oath, the only other possible members of the royal house, apart from themselves, will be their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte. and Prince Louis.
Harry, during an interview with Oprah Winfrey of Sussex last year, said he had felt “trapped inside the system, as is the rest of my family.” My father and my brother are trapped. They can’t leave. And I have great compassion for that. “
He will need even more of this compassion for his niece and nephews.
At this stage, it looks like there will simply be no option for the Cambridge Three to decide to climb the sticks, move to a mansion on Katy Perry Road and have Netflix pay for shreds to do … something.
It is not hyperbolic to say that the future of the monarchy rests on its three shoulders because there is simply no one else.
All of this, to me, seems like an unthinkable level of pressure for William and Kate, both as individuals and as parents.
Her Majesty has repeatedly had to deal with situations in which the demands of her job are diametrically opposed to those of her as a father and has repeatedly had to decide whether to face a situation such as to monarch a sea.
Kate will face decades of this same internal tension. As someone tasked with helping keep the Crown afloat, sending the only new recruits available, their children, to work on the royal front line is smart play.
However, as a mother, you must surely want to protect them as much as you can and want to give them as much freedom and choices as possible about their lives.
There aren’t enough squirrels or Rembrandts squirrels that, in my opinion, can even begin to make up for how difficult the next few years will be for Kate.
“No one knows what the hell it is to be the Prince of Wales,” Prince Charles once said. In the same vein, I suppose no one will ever know what “hell” it might very well be to be the Duchess of Cambridge in the years to come.
Daniela Elser is a royal expert and writer with over 15 years of experience working with various Australian media titles.