I know youβve briefly talked about the βWalesβ brand, that while some of the more problematic figures in the BRF seem to be scrambling to fix their reputations, William and Catherine appear pretty unaffected. But what I find most interesting is, the brand Catherine herself has built, her reputation seems completely untouched. What do you think contributes to that? Or do you see it that way too?
I think it's a combination of a few things.
First, Kate doesn't speak to the press and she doesn't court the public's attention. This is like 90% of the BRF's problems - people who like the attention so they compete for headlines, brief the press, and send associates like their hairdresser or close friends to brief the press. Kate doesn't do that - she literally just shows up, does the job, then goes home to her kids; it's refreshingly normal for someone so A-List these days.
Second, Kate has only ever been herself and fame hasn't changed who she fundamentally is, and we can see that. More often than not, when someone becomes famous - whether it's long-term fame and popularity like Kate has or it's 10 minutes of fame or it's a flash in the pan viral moment - that sort of attention changes them. They get desperate to hold onto it or they get used to the privileges and it changes them. That never happened to Kate, that we know of. Who we see her as today is exactly the girl we were introduced to in 2003 - someone who cherishes her family, values her time outdoors, who likes to help, who gives back, etc.
Third, Kate doesn't have any real scandals and whenever she does make a rare misstep, she learns from it and does better. I can think of only three scandals involving Kate: the bum dresses (which she fixed with dress weights, longer hemlines, and heavier fabrics), KateGate (which wasn't even her fault to begin with), and the Mother's Day photo (for which she took full accountability). And technically, these aren't even real scandals, in my opinion - they're mistakes.
There are probably other things and people may have different opinions too, but this is how (and where) I see Kate excelling in terms of reputation management where others in the BRF fail; she doesn't make a fuss, fame hasn't changed her, and she learns from her mistakes. That's rare. I'd say the only other person on that level as far as reputation management goes these days is Edward - it's not Sophie, because she has a semiannual PR cycle; it's not Anne, who doesn't so much as learn from mistakes or missteps as much as she blows past it; it's definitely not Yorkies, Sussexes, and Charles and Camilla, who're all obsessed with their publicity. And William speaks to the press, albeit carefully and strategically.
She's in a league of her own, really, and the public understands that. The public is smart - they know when they're being lied to and when they're being fed a PR narrative. Kate hasn't/doesn't do either.
(I mean, she does talk a lot about "being keen" and then nothing ever materializes, but on the scale of BRF, that's like promising cookies for dessert but ending up with dry and sandy vegan crackers.)
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