The oh so social royals! How 2023 was the year of social media for Prince William and Catherine as they ramped up their campaign to embrace the modern age (and emulate the slick Sussexes along the way…)
There was a time when royal life was characterized by skepticism about new media, including social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter (now X).
But that’s all changed in the last twelve months – and how.
There was a remarkable breakthrough when the royal family started posting mail professionally edited reels from major royal occasions, including the Coronation.
But leading the way are the Prince and Princess of Wales, who have steadily increased their online presence and now employ their own in-house videographer.
Kate appears to be happy to pose for pictures during a visit to Nottingham Trent University
Social media platforms are playing an increasingly important role for members of the royal family, especially the Welsh
During his trip to Bournemouth in September, William was practically harassed. Most wanted a selfie – and he happily obliged
Prince William poses for selfies with members of the public as he visits Pret A Manger on September 7, 2023 in Bournemouth
Prince of Wales takes a selfie with members of the public outside Dowlais Rugby Club during a two-day visit to Wales on April 27, 2023
Wales takes a selfie with a member of the public outside Dowlais Rugby Club, April 2023
Prince of Wales meets members of the public while visiting The Street community hub during an official visit to Scarborough
The royals began shaking up their social media presence by posting professionally edited images from major royal occasions and amping up the number of selfies during engagements this year.
Perhaps echoing Harry and Meghan’s book, sharp videos allow the royals to reach a wide audience on their own terms – including a younger segment of society than would otherwise be possible.
Here, MailOnline takes a look at the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts and how they seem to be working so far…
Tweet
Kate and William have been using X, formerly known as Twitter, for almost a decade to share insight into their royal engagements and favorite charities
The Prince and Princess of Wales recently started giving a full breakdown of their September engagements on their Kensington Royal Twitter account.
Their Highnesses posted a series of photos documenting their events throughout the month, including both solo and joint engagements.
The first tweet in the thread read: ‘Welcome to the September Rewind with the Prince and Princess of Wales.’
The monthly round-up is a new feature for the royal couple and comes after they increased their social media presence earlier this year with glossy videos documenting royal occasions.
Kate and William are also known to use their platform to highlight issues close to their hearts. Recent retweets on their page include charities such as Mind, Baby Loss Awareness and The Earthshot Prize.
After first joining the app in September 2014, the Waleses have amassed quite an audience with 2.8 million followers.
On Tuesday, a schoolboy was lucky enough to receive a personal message from Prince William on Twitter, now known as X, after he was unable to attend a school event.
Freddie Hadley, 12, invited the future king to visit St Michael’s Church of England High School in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, yesterday to attend the launch of a mental health awareness campaign.
His invitation was posted on social media by teacher Kerry Whitehouse, the school’s head of mental health, and went viral after being viewed more than 140,000 times.
Although the Prince and Princess of Wales had already committed to another trip to Birmingham to attend a youth forum, he made sure to apologize to Freddie and his school friends.
He wrote: ‘Good afternoon Freddie, I am so sorry that Catherine and I cannot be with you and the rest of the students at St Michael’s today. Addressing mental health challenges and stigma is so important. Please continue this important work. W’
The Prince and Princess of Wales often share photos on Instagram of their many engagements as working royals
The couple first launched their Instagram account in 2015, with the username a nod to their former titles: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
In more recent times, the couple’s social media has taken on a modern twist and become more experimental with their use of Reels, Guides and Highlights.
Kate and William also started posting behind-the-scenes footage of royal events, including King Charles’ coronation, to their official Instagram, giving fans a glimpse into their lives.
Fortunately, this seems to be paying off for the couple, who now have a whopping five million followers on Instagram, which is almost two million more than King Charles and Queen Camilla, who have 13.1 million.
Other royals who enjoy the social media platform but don’t have as much reach as the Welsh include Princess Eugenie with 1.8 million followers, Mike Tindall with 597,000 and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi with 142,000 followers.
YouTube
Kate and William announced the launch of their YouTube channel in May 2021 and have since posted 86 videos to raise awareness of charities and their official outings
Kate and William announced the launch of their YouTube channel in May 2021 by sharing a slick promotional video.
At the start of the video, the couple were seen sitting on the sofa in their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, as the prince turned to his wife and joked: ‘By the way, you have to be careful what you say now, because these guys are filming everything.’
The flashy video then showed several clips from engagements over the years, including Kate launching her Early Years survey in February 2020 and the couple visiting Pakistan in October 2019.
The launch came days after royal experts praised the couple for sharing a family video of themselves outdoors with their three children to mark their 10th wedding anniversary.
The page has since proven to be quite a success and now has 656,000 subscribers and millions of views among their 86 videos.
The couple uses stylishly edited videos to increase awareness of charities and their official commitments.
Recent videos include insight into their visit to the first regenerative ocean farm in North Wales and a promotional video announcing the launch of Prince William’s Homewards imitation to end homelessness.
The footage captured by the couple ranges from direct-to-camera interviews with the Prince and Princess of Wales to unprecedented footage filmed at their home at Kensington Palace and at Buckingham Palace.
Many believe the couple’s brand new ‘social media blitz’ would win over young people
Locals take a selfie with Catherine and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in Kingston, Jamaica, in March 2022
TikTok
The Prince and Princess have not yet joined TikTok due to the British government’s skepticism over its security after government employees were banned from downloading the Chinese-founded app on their work devices.
Kate and William have reportedly had conversations with TikTok, but that was more to gain insight into how the platform works.