Happy wedding day to my former future husband.
I think when I say that people think I am joking, but I legitimately thought I was going to marry Prince Harry. Like for real. I wrote a 1700 word research paper in college about how I would use technology in my dream job of "Duchess". as a wedding gift to the happy couple I am publishing my 5-year old social media tips that I wrote in college. I even signed it "Andrea, Duchess of Sussex". Enjoy.
Thoroughly Modern Monarchy
Introduction
The monarchy is often seen as out of touch and unnecessary. People tend to question why they are needed in the modern world because they are still seen by many as the same sort of institution as they have been for hundreds of years. But, the monarchy is changing; they aren’t there to rule over the people. They are there to serve them. The purpose of a modern monarchy is to promote charities and domestic industry. They are a symbol of patriotism. And rather than pledge allegiance to an inanimate object, people can be loyal to the monarch. Over the past one hundred years especially royalty have had a growing relationship with the people. The press has had growing influence on the public and now any public figure’s life can be out in the open for anyone to see. The people are able to know more and more about the royals, so, logically, it is time for the royals to make an effort to have a more personal relationship with the public, which can much more easily be done through mass communication and social media.
Evolution of Technology in Monarchy
Monarchs have always been pioneers of technology. George V was a huge proponent of the use of the radio and the reign of Elizabeth II has been intertwined with the use of the television (Gross 2011). In fact many people bought their first televisions to watch the broadcast of her coronation. Elizabeth II has also televised her Christmas messages and opened up her palace to a documentary crew in 1969 in an effort to have a more personal relationship with her subjects (Gross 2011). Her reign also coincides with the expansion of the Internet, thus giving the monarchy ways to form a closer relationship with the public through its website and various forms of social media.
The press has also taken advantage of the technological advances of the last century. Information is able to spread faster than ever through the Internet so the press has made it easy to publicize the different causes that the royal family is involved in. However, that sort of information is not what sells. Throughout the last century, the press has been increasingly invasive in the lives of the royal family. As a public figure, there is a fine line between what is private and what should be made public. Princess Margaret was one of the first people to be hounded by the paparazzi and Princess Diana garnered so much media attention that the Paparazzi is often blamed for her death (Frazer, 2000).
Through the years royal families have learned from these past problems and have learned to take advantage of their power over the press. The Thai royal family has people that scour the Internet for negative information about them and has it removed or blocked from access in their country (Fuller, 2011). The British royal family has done similar things in the past, such as having negative press about certain family members removed from the Internet. After the engagement of Prince William to Catherine Middleton was announced, it seems that most negative articles about her miraculously disappeared. It is speculated among royal followers that there is an unspoken rule in the British press that they cannot publish paparazzi photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge anymore unless they are doing an official appearance. The measures that the British royal family would resort to did come out in the open several times recently with the photo scandals that Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge each had this summer. The Prince of Wales threatened legal action in August after Prince Harry’s nude photos were published (Gladdis & Osborne, 2012). The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did actually take action and made a criminal complaint against the photographer who took Catherine’s topless photos (BBC, 2012).
Trends and Issues
The monarchy is not all fun and games. Like any occupation, there are obviously some problems that they face, all of which are either dependent on or greatly affect public opinion. This is why it is so important for the monarchy to develop a more personal relationship with the public. Possibly the greatest threat to the monarchy is a potential republican movement to overthrow the monarchy. If public opinion becomes more negative, people could easily try to overthrow the monarchy in favor of a republic, making it imperative that royal families make an effort to stay relevant in modern society.
There are several problems in the media that can affect public opinion, one being the inaccuracy of the media. Inaccurate information can become widespread easily due to advances in communications technology. However, inaccurate information can be negative and celebrities have learned how to deal with it by creating a more personal Internet presence for themselves. Various social networking platforms make it easy for celebrities to take control of the published information about them and they are able to respond to negative press personally (Gross, 2011). This is not something that the monarchy has caught on to yet. They seem to like to think of themselves as private citizens rather than the public figures that they are.
Another problem in the monarchy that can be addressed with social media is the opinion that they can be stuffy and out of touch. By having a greater social media presence, the monarchy can depict themselves as more in touch with the younger generations (Gross, 2011). They can also have a more personal relationship with the public due to the two way dialogue that social media presents (Gross, 2011). However, it is possible that this may backfire and rather than be seen as in touch with the younger generations, people could wonder what’s the point of even having a monarchy if they are just like them.
I can understand what the monarchy would hesitate to become too involved with the public personally. They have been dealing with the intrusive press invading their privacy for decades and a more personal public presence could make the intrusion into their personal lives even more widespread. The royal family has always been very private and is supposed to be thought of as an example to follow (Gross, 2011). So given their past problems with the media it is only natural that they would hesitate to divulge too much personal information on their own. However, I have already mentioned the measures that various royal families have been taking to avoid negative press, so they already seem to know how to control the information that the public sees.
Application
I do think that the monarchy as an institution needs to adapt new technologies in order to avoid being seen as out of touch. They really need to take control of the information put out about them, and not by taking legal action to prevent the press from publishing it. As a princess I would certainly have a more personal Internet presence. Princess Diana was always called the people’s princess, and I want to adapt that concept in a different way. The monarchy is there to serve the people, and how can I do that without knowing anything about them. I intend to be the people’s princess in that I want to use the various mass communications technologies available to grow a more personal relationship with my public.
The royal families are being treated more and more like celebrities, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing. Celebrities depend on their fans for their livelihood, and are held responsible for their public and private actions, which is something the royal families need to take note of. Royals are not really private citizens; they are public figures that are paid with taxpayer money. The royals are there to serve the public, which can be done more easily if they develop a stronger relationship with each other.
Another way that a royal family would benefit from social media is they personally can bring attention to the parts of a story that really matter. Whenever a royal goes out to represent their country or one of their charities, the thing that is always emphasized is what they are wearingrather than what they are doing. As a royal I would intend to bring attention to my causes both in person and over the Internet. I could personally use different media platforms to bring attention to what I am doing rather than let the media simply say how pretty my dress is.
There are so many resources readily available to achieve these goals. Facebook, Twitter and various blog sites are so easy to use and can help me personally show the public that it is something I care about and not simply an obligation. I would obviously need some sort of public relations team to ensure that I don’t make a complete fool of myself. However, social media is such an easy solution to some of their problems that I don’t understand why the monarchy hasn’t done it yet.
Conclusion
In order for the monarchy to stay relevant in modern society they need to keep up with advancing technology to avoid being seen as out of touch. Monarchy is so easily harmed by negative public opinion that they really need to control the information published about them. As a royal I intend to exploit social media in order to present us as in touch with the public and a great service to them as well.
