Prince William and Kate Middleton’s ‘warm’ posts compared to Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘adverts’
The all-new brand Cambridge: William and Kate launch YouTube channel days after sharing family video to create a ‘warm and inviting’ image – while Harry and Meghan’s content feels like ‘ads’ and ‘not from the heart’, experts claim
- Prince William, 38, and Kate Middleton, 39, have launched a YouTube channel
- Came as they had social media revamp with new candid Instagram profile snap
- Last week, the Duke and Duchess shared a video of family life in Anmer Hall
- Brand expert told FEMAIL the couple’s digital output was ‘warm and inviting’
- Contrasted the approach to Prince Harry, 36 and Meghan Markle’s, 39, content
- Said they are ‘brand heavy and personality light’ and output was ‘like an advert’
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have ‘refreshed’ their digital approach by revamping their Instagram and launching a YouTube channel to create a ‘warm and inviting’ image, a brand expert has claimed.
Prince William, 38, and Kate Middleton, 39, yesterday changed their username from ‘Kensington Royal’ to the more informal ‘Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’ and updated their profile picture to a candid snap taken on a visit to Ireland last year.
The couple also launched a YouTube channel just days after they treated royal fans to an intimate family video showing them enjoying time at the beach with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, six, and Prince Louis, three.
It’s all part of a strategy by the Cambridges to modernise how the royal family connects with a tech-savvy audience, while sharing just enough of their lives to satisfy fans, without sacrificing their children’s privacy.
It comes in sharp contrast to Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle‘s, 39, approach, who have ditched all their social media channels in favour of sharing content on paid-for platforms like Netflix and Spotify.
Brand expert Nick Ede told FEMAIL the change in the digital output for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge gave ‘a really lovely glimpse into the lives of our future King and Queen’, while he said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are ‘very brand heavy and personality light’ with content that feels like ‘advertising’.
The Duke, 38, and Duchess of Cambridge, 39, have ‘refreshed’ their digital approach by revamping their Instagram and launching a ‘warm and inviting’ YouTube channel, a brand expert has claimed
Brand expert Nick Ede told FEMAIL the change in the digital output for Kate and William gave ‘a really lovely glimpse into the lives of our future King and Queen’
Kate and William’s new profile picture on Instagram and Twitter shows a candid photo shows the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their arms around each other on a walk along Howth Cliff, near Dublin, in March 2020.
And yesterday the couple launched their own YouTube channel – also using the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge username – by sharing a slick promotional video.
The 25-second clip starts with the couple sitting on a sofa in Anmer Hall, Norfolk, with William turning to Kate to say: ‘By the way you need to be careful what you say now because these guys are filming everything.
The flashy video went on to show various clips from engagements over the years, including Kate launching her Early Years survey last February and the couple visiting Pakistan in October 2019.
Meanwhile the branding expert said the Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, are ‘very brand heavy and personality light’ with content
Nick said Prince Harry and Meghan have focused on a digital output which was ‘like an advert’ and opted to work with big paid-for content brands like Netflix and Spotify
It also reveals candid moments from the couple, including a behind-the-scenes outtakes from this year’s St Patrick’s Day video in which Kate tells William: ‘You don’t need to roll your Rs.’
The Cambridges’ YouTube channel has more than 1.1million subscribers less than 24 hours after being announced. They have 12.8million Instagram followers.
Nick explained: ‘I think that its really refreshing to see the new digital approach that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have made.
‘They know they the need to keep up with the relentless developments and use of social media.
Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge gave their Instagram account a revamp. Pictured, their Instagram profile today (top) and recently (bottom), featuring their old details
‘Their use of imagery and YouTube and all social channels is warm and inviting and gives us a really lovely glimpse into their lives.
‘It allows us to see how our future king and queen interact with each other, their children, their dog and so on.’
He continued: ‘They are still revealing the traditional sides of the royal family which is something we all love to see but by stepping up their game in talking to the public via Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.’
‘They are allowing us to know they care about us and the things that matter to those around us, as well as themselves and their own family.’
The branding expert said Prince William and Kate were ‘stepping up their game in talking to the public’ with their new YouTube channel and revamped Instagram
Meanwhile Robert Jobson, royal author of Prince Philip Century 1921-1921: The Extraordinary life of Duke of Edinburgh, agreed.
He said Prince William and Kate are ‘just trying to get out as much information about what they do as possible.’
Saying the couple do a ‘brilliant job’, he added: ‘They’re trying to make sure the monarchy is up to date.’
Nick said there were huge differences between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Earlier this month, the couple shared a video as they played in the garden with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, which Nick said ‘allowed the public to know they care about us’
Prince Harry and Meghan ditched their social media channels Instagram and Twitter after stepping down from royal duty last year.
Unlike the Cambridges, who have regularly shared photographs of their children on birthdays and other occasions, the couple haven’t allowed royal fans a glimpse of Archie since last year.
The images that have been shared of the family have shown the little tot with his head buried in his mother’s arms, or with his face turned away from the camera.
At Christmas, the couple chose not to share a photograph as the Cambridges do each year, and instead opted to post a hand-drawn image of the family.
Unlike the Cambridges, who have regularly shared photographs of their children on birthdays and other occasions, the couple haven’t allowed royal fans a glimpse of Archie since last year (pictured, a hand-drawn image of the family released at Christmas)
The couple, who said they wanted to become financially independent from the royal family, have since gone on to sign big multimillion pound contracts with paid for services like Netflix and Spotify.
Nick explained: ‘Kate and Will’s channels are in stark contrast to those created by the team behind the Sussex brand.
‘The Sussexes have gone for commercial partnerships which are very brand heavy and personality light.
‘They are more about using the huge platforms of Netflix, Apple + and Spotify to get their messages across to millions of people but in a far more slick way, that often feel like adverts rather than from the heart.’
