Tragedy a lesson for monarchy

– Public anger at the British monarchy following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, marked a turning point for the royal family, forcing a revolution in its communications machine that helped revive the brand.

While mourners left thousands of bouquets of flowers at the gates of Buckingham Palace and nearby Kensington Palace, the royal family was nowhere to be seen after Diana’s death on August 31, 1997.

Prince Charles, divorced from Diana, and his mother Queen Elizabeth II remained at Balmoral Castle, their remote Scottish residence, saying nothing for days.

Despite the British public’s mounting anger at the royal response – or lack thereof – it was not until the day before Diana’s funeral that the queen finally broke her silence with a live broadcast to the nation.

The monarch’s distance from the public outpouring of grief for the woman dubbed the “people’s princess” by then prime minister Tony Blair caused resentment.

Having been immersed in protocol and tradition for centuries, the royals quickly realised they were in urgent need of an image overhaul.

In her tribute to Diana, the queen said: “I, for one, believe that there are lessons to be drawn from her life and from the extraordinary and moving reaction to her death.”

The result was the royals “having to become more professional, and having to take real control and take outside advice and better professional people”, said public relations expert Mark Borkowski.

The out-of-touch Buckingham Palace press office, which Borkowski remembers used to close over the weekends while some of the most interesting Diana stories unfolded, underwent a shake-up.

Sluggish employees were replaced with PR-savvy professionals.

Patrick Jephson, Diana’s former private secretary, said the current image of the monarchy was the product of a “very sophisticated news management campaign”.

The current media strategy focuses on distributing positive information about the monarchy. –