Between Elizabeth II and the British media, it’s a long story. To analyse.
More than 100 million subscribers, subjects or not of Her late Majesty, have followed the series The Crown, on Netflix, which will release its fifth season in November. If this series met with such success, it is because the fiction managed to slip into the interstices of the life of Elizabeth II, to which the media did not have access, as during this famous week of 1997 when the Queen waited six days before reacting to Diana’s death.
She knew how to find the words, and there is a before and after Diana in the relations between the Crown and the media or the British press. Part of the royal family, and in particular princes William and Harry, considered that the princess had been killed by the paparazzi working for the tabloids. A kind of agreement had therefore been concluded between the media and the queen: they left her out of their investigations, and above all they did not encroach on the private lives of the two children until they became adults. . For the rest, Buckingham Palace was careful to distill some unimportant information such as the queen’s dogs.
Mastery of planetary communication
Because if there is one thing that characterized Elizabeth II, it was her great mastery of her planetary communication. She first came to prominence during the war on the radio, encouraging children to hold their ground under bombardment. At the request of Prince Philip, her husband, and against Churchill’s advice, her wedding was broadcast live by the BBC in 1953, which enabled around 20 million Britons to follow the event alongside her. . But, from that time, there was debate in the palace to know how far it was necessary to go. In 1969, a documentary titled Royal Familywhich followed the Windsors in their daily life with barbecues and games of relaxation, had the effect of desacralizing the institution and the queen has since then been careful not to let too much be seen.
She was content to speak at Christmas or during major crises such as Covid-19, Brexit or for the opening of COP26. We saw her appear with Daniel Craig for the 2012 London Olympics, where a double parachuted. Always, she appeared consensual and never expressed what may look like an opinion. She has also given an interview only once to the BBC, on the course of her coronation. The journalist, who had to wait 22 years, had no right not to ask any questions. It was a simple conversation. It is not very surprising that in front of such a corseted system, the youngest Harry chose ultra-communication with Meghan.