The social media posts that Prince William and his family share to their 17.1 million followers have a similar approach, with many showing them off-duty, with videos shot in woods, on sand dunes. One shows the Princess of Wales sharing her relief at having finished chemotherapy treatment, and reflecting on the importance “of simply loving and being loved”.
British “adman” Rory Sutherland, who has spent 37 years in the heart of the advertising world, currently as vice-chairman of Ogilvy, fully approves of the Waleses’ approach to striking a more modern tone.
“I think he’s walked the line, which is a very narrow line between modernity and kind of absurdity extremely well,” he says of Prince William. “It is a very delicate path to tread.”
It is, he adds, far less crude than one memorable attempt by the generation before him, when Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Andrew took part in It’s a Royal Knockout charity tournament in 1987, presiding over teams of celebrities who wore costumes and did challenges like lobbing ham at each other.
And it seems to be resonating. Prince William and Catherine have public approval ratings of 76% and 73% respectively – higher than all other family members in last month’s YouGov survey.