Windsors in a spin

The royal family’s PR operation is in danger of becoming too successful

Is anyone else sick of the love-fest between the modern royal family and the press? That might sound churlish, even unpatriotic, especially when everybody is preparing for next month’s Diamond Jubilee jamboree. But to me the House of Windsor looks less and less like a monarchy, more and more like a PR operation.

In the last few weeks we have seen a number of royal publicity stunts, orchestrated to endear the Windsors to us, the drooling masses. There’s Prince Charles presenting the weather on TV; there’s Prince Harry sprinting with Usain Bolt; and there, everywhere, is Catherine Windsor, née Middleton, swinging a stick in front of the Olympic hockey team or attending some charity polo bash. Isn’t she lovely? Yes, she is. But do we need to be reminded every day?

There’s nothing new about royal PR, you might say.