The social networks and rags
The British Monarchy, particularly the Queen, fascinates people around the world. Today with Facebook, Twitter and other social networks it is very simple to follow the life of the members of the British Monarchy. This not was always the case. The first mediatised monarch was Queen Victoria, by newspapers and radio. However her life was not so mediatised as the one of the Royal Family nowadays.
A very important event marked a turning point in the media life of the British Monarchy: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. For the first time a coronation was broadcast on the TV in front of a hundred million people in Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean. In Europe it was live whereas in America it was a few days later, the time for the movie to go to America. The coronation took place in Westminster Abbey where there were twenty cameras and about fifty in London whereas for Catherine and William’s wedding there were 110 cameras only in Westminster Abbey. At this moment it was incredible because the TV was not present in many homes: less than 60,000. Because of that many people stood in front of TV shops to see the coronation on TV. The following year, there were 120,000 TVs in United Kingdom.
Since this coronation, the life of the Monarch and her family has been followed by millions of people throughout the planet. In 60 years of reign the relationship between the Royal Family and the media has changed a lot. This relationship, particularly with paparazzi, was not always simple. Indeed, everybody remembers the drama of Diana’s death.
From Elizabeth II’s crowning to Diana’s tragic death the life of the Royals was very secret. Diana and Charles’s wedding was more mediatised than Elizabeth and Phillip’s wedding. But Diana’s death really changed the opinion and the relation between the British Family and the paparazzi. In fact the paparazzi were very suspected in this accident. Even if Scotland Yard declared them not responsible, British Family, particularly William and Harry, kept a bad memory and is wary of them.
From Elizabeth II’s crowning to Diana’s tragic death the life of the Royals was very secret. Diana and Charles’s wedding was more mediatised than Elizabeth and Phillip’s wedding. But Diana’s death really changed the opinion and the relation between the British Family and the paparazzi. In fact the paparazzi were very suspected in this accident. Even if Scotland Yard declared them not responsible, British Family, particularly William and Harry, kept a bad memory and is wary of them.
With the time, British Family learnt by this event. Now, and with the development of social networks where they are very present, British Family member’s life is more followed because it is simpler. The information are going round the world in one minute. Of course British Monarchy always interest paparazzi. However, the Monarchy and the paparazzi understood about events tragic of past. In this way British Monarchy joined the different social networks and paparazzi are less invasive. Indeed on Youtube “The Royal Channel” has 687 videos, posts a new video every week and has 126,622 followers. The first video was posted on October 11th, 2007. This channel was created to mark the 50th anniversary of the Queen's first televised festive address, a YouTube channel for the royal family. At the time, the palace hoped it would make her annual speech "more accessible to younger people and those in other countries." On Facebook “The British Monarchy” has 1,030,576 likes and posts news information every single day and several times per day since November 2010. They post photos, videos and speeches. Of course, it is impossible to poke the Royal Family. On twitter “The British Monarchy” has posted 17,162 tweets and has 623,634 followers, they post several tweets a day since July 2009, but none of the Royals themselves tweet. The page follows only one other Twitter account: Clarence House, the royal home of the Prince of Wales. And of course they have an official website where they post some new information: the official website of the British Monarchy. The first official website was created in 1997. On these different social networks, the British Monarchy posts what the different family members are doing: trip around the world and in Commonwealth member states, the Queen’s message for Christmas and so on.
So, the British Monarchy is very present on the web and has always its place in the celebrity pages of magazines, to understand let us take as an example the birth of Prince George. He was born on July 22nd, 2013 in St Mary’s Hospital. When Catherine arrived at the hospital there were many international journalists in front of the building. Every day they said that the Princess was in the hospital, but it was wrong. The pregnancy of the Princess fed the English but also the international tabloids for months. Every one could bet on the sex, the hair colour, the name, the size, the weight and so one of the future baby. Catherine’s admission was confirmed by Clarence House’s official twitter.
Even if the British Monarchy is modern it keeps some traditions, for example Prince George’s birth was announced on the traditional easel. Every going out of a Royal is followed by many people around the world. The British Monarchy has a sections concerning their relation with medias (English and overseas) on their official website. It is like a charter. His mother’s death left a mark on William, so journalists think that he is going to keep his son away from the media. The different social networks make the advertising of the monarchy but there are some different things which make this advertising.
There are hundreds movies about the queen and the monarchy like “The Queen” in 2006, “The King’s Speech” in 2010 or “Elizabeth I, the virgin queen” in 2005. Every year, at least one movie about the British Monarchy is released at the cinema. Also, when a royal family’s supplier is recognized, its turnover increases. The British Monarchy is thus a guarantee for numerous people. In 2012 London held the Olympic Games. During the opening ceremony, actors, playing the Queen of England and James Bond, jumped out of a helicopter. The little movie amused the whole world. Everyone thinks that the Monarchy has modernized.
Finally, let’s speak about the paparazzi and their publications in the tabloid. Paparazzi want to earn money and publish any information about the Royal family. But, when they publish information which is not favorable to the monarchy, the monarchy and the British are not happy. The monarchy makes them a trial and the information is, generally, badly seen by British. However this feeling is not shared by everybody. Indeed, when a depreciating photo about a member of the family is published – without continuing the Queen, a real symbol in the country – the British, particularly young people, and people around the world love to laugh about it.
To conclude, the British Monarchy is very mediatised and interests the media, thus the paparazzi a lot interest about the life of British Family’s members. But to give the real information they are very present on social networks. The British Family thus seems closer to the people. It is a big evolution in the life of the British Family. The Paparazzi are considerably less invasive since Lady Di’s death. From a media point of view the British Monarchy is adapting itself to a modern society and, now, the paparazzi are respecting the Royal Family’s rights to some Privacy.