Two Christmas cards tell two royal stories: the relaxed family and the Hollywood love-match
Rural normality alongside the glamour of Harry and Meghan illustrate the royals’ different destinies
It shows how far the nation’s idea of what a young Royal family should represent has evolved
William and Kate have tethered their popularity on being the country’s ideal nuclear family
Remember that painfully tense 1992 Snowdon portrait of Diana, Charles and their two sons on a “casual” family picnic? Even the pony looked as though it had just trotted out of John Frieda. The derisive snorts fell like blows upon all involved. Mulberry ad! Ralph Lauren product placement!
How interesting then, to see the Cambridges revisiting similar territory for their 2018 Christmas card. Similar, and yet contextually, so very different, the work of a photographer who specialises in a natural looking (but still airbrushed) informality.
Matt Porteous, who took the portrait, has photographed them before and they clearly trust him to capture their down to earth(ish) approach to family life. Kate even manages a dimply smile.
Having hitherto resisted Displays of Public Affection, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have noticeably relaxed since Harry and Meghan became attached at the hands. Perched next to one another on a branch of a tree in the grounds of Anmer Hall, their home in Norfolk, you’d almost think they’re having fun.
Their arms seem to just miss being entwined because Prince George (another outing in full length trousers; if that doesn’t create an internet sensation, William’s daringly unbuttoned shirt should) is using them as climbing frames. His sister Princess Charlotte, meanwhile, is experimenting with a few supermodel poses that require her parents to serve as drape-worthy props. Suffice to say, the chemistry between the five of them is hard to resist, even for hardened cynics. It’s uncannily like looking at a normal family. This is the nature of its genius.
It also demonstrates how far the nation’s idea of what a young Royal family should represent has evolved, nudged in no small part by the Cambridges’ assiduously cultivated normality – not, most commentators agree, an affectation, but a genuine desire.
Although the clothes were not meant to be the main story it’s impossible not to read a manifesto into the fact that they’re so resolutely nondescript – nothing is ever left to chance in an official royal photo. While Charles and Diana’s country snap was big on tailoring, there’s nary a jacket to be seen on the Cambridges, who’ve all gone a bit hygge (or the Swedish version thereof).
Kate’s jumper is from Fjallraven and in such a non-colour it’s as if she’s making a deliberate point about clothes not being her focal point. (Not that this will stop the Kate-ophiles from stripping stocks of taupe cashmere bare). Charlotte is also similarly kicking against her designated fashion-icon status in a knitted hand-me-down from George, whose Hunter boots are the only blatant branding in the entire piece. This is high street, or as good as. If the card had the words “We Do Family, Not Couture. Happy Holidays” embossed in crackle-effect gold lettering across it, the contrast with the Sussexes’ festive offering (featuring the Duchess of Sussex in the Stella Mccartney floor-length backless dress she wore to her wedding party) couldn’t be more marked.
Had the two brothers consulted each other before their cards were made public? Did Kate agree that Meghan could go for the Vanity Fair approach this year (complete with swirling mists and dollops of soft focus), provided the Cambridges get their turn in 2020? Is there a pre-arrangement that the brothers should cultivate diametrically different images?
Suffice to say that whereas the Cambridges are all – including Louis – making eye contact and smiling toothily, the Sussexes have gone art-meets-fashion, with a romantic back view silhouetted against the extravagant firework display of their wedding party. Depending on your age, it’s either cute or self-involved. The shot is the work of Chris Allerton, a fashion and celebrity photographer whose talent for glossifying the countryside has earned him regular commissions with Country Life magazine. If the Sussexes specifically commissioned him to take their Christmas portrait back in May that shows impressive foresight/ruthless image control (delete according to your feelings about Meghan).
Harry and Meghan’s invocation of the heavens might seem a touch Hollywood but what with Mary Poppins being of peak interest currently, pictures of celestial skies are very now and should resonate well with the young.
It’s probably no more staged than the Cambridges’, although it seems that way. Perhaps that won’t matter. As future king and queen, William and Kate have tethered their popularity – just as the Queen and her parents did – on being authentically the country’s ideal nuclear family. The Sussexes seem to be taking a more Instagramfriendly, experimental approach. Bring on those christening pictures.