The announcement of Princess Kate and King Charles’s medical procedures on the same day is “not a coincidence”, experts on public relations say.
The royals are using an “incredibly smart strategy” to minimise the media coverage of the monarch and the Princess of Wales heading into hospital by turning them into a single news cycle, the experts said after today’s two surprise announcements.
Firstly at around midday, Kensington Palace revealed that Kate, the Princess of Wales, was admitted to The London Clinic hospital yesterday for planned abdominal surgery. And then within hours, it was announced that King Charles will undergo surgery next week for an enlarged prostate.
“His Majesty’s condition is benign”, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. He is expected to continue to carry out his affairs of state even while recovering.
Kate, meanwhile, is expected to be in hospital for two weeks to recover from her surgery, and is not expected to resume royal duties until after Easter.
Commenting on why both hospital visits were announced on the same day Priscila Martinez, CEO & Founder, The Brand Agency, told Express.co.uk: “One can only speculate on why this approach was taken, but its fair to say that coupling news like this forces the more serious matter to share airtime with the smaller piece of news making it appear less serious.
“This strategy can bury the more serious announcement in unrelated headlines and make it yesterday’s news by the time more details come to the surface. Its an incredibly smart strategy to mitigate the release of something serious.”
Ronn Torossian, Founder & Chairman of 5WPR, told Express.co.uk: “The royals are strategic with their communications, both when they share a statement and when they choose to remain quiet; it says a lot. It’s not a coincidence that these two announcements were released on the same day.”
“While both procedures are timely, they are not both happening at the moment of the statement. This was a smart move on behalf of the palace because now there is one story regarding the medical status of the royal family, rather than two.
“Releasing an update on Kate, who is incredibly admired by many, definitely minimizes the impact of learning about King Charles and his health.”
Ms Martinez added: “There is a very good reason why the palace may have wanted to make two big announcements at practically the same time: this approach creates only one news cycle. Seasoned communicators know that the more airtime you give any given issue, the longer the news cycle created.
“A longer news cycle translates to more headlines and more attention. By delivering two health bombshells within minutes, they didn’t allow enough space for two long news cycles to be created. This approach effectively cut in half the airtime these pieces of news received.”
Prince William will not undertake any royal duties while Kate remains in hospital and “will reduce his public duties during her recovery” in order to care for his wife and three children.
While the Princess of Wales’ condition appears to be serious given the time she is required to stay in hospital, it is not believed to be cancer related.
