In celebration of their tenth wedding anniversary, the Cambridges have released a 40 second vignette of their painfully British existence. It’s all Barbour jackets, laughing children and windswept beaches. It is, in other words, a John Lewis nightmare.
But who wants an aspirational royal family? That’s kind of the point isn’t it, that they’re not like us? No, apparently the focus groups have spoken and Britain wants a set of Boden models to represent the nation.
The Cambridges’ performance is arguably just as confected as anything Harry and Meghan said on Oprah’s sofa
Why can’t we just have a nice formal photo of the family together with the Queen? I want my royals distant and dispassionate.
Instead it’s jollies in orchards with the suspiciously giggly children overlaid with tinkly, faux-folk music (you’re half expecting Marcus Mumford to jump out from behind one of the apple trees, mandolin at the ready). The Land Rover in the background feels horribly like a prop designed to remind us of Prince Philip rather than just a car that happens to be parked in the background.
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