MODERN ROYALTY

The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Are YouTube Vloggers Now

"Hello commoners, and welcome back to our channel!"

by Meagan Fredette

Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images.
Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images.

For the British royal family, one of their cardinal rules of public relations is “meet people where they are.” Thus, their schedules are packed with local outings and colonialist tours and fancy engagements, all in service of reminding commoners that they are, in fact, common. And during the pandemic, the people are online, so it follows that millennial heirs Prince William and Kate Middleton are launching a YouTube channel. Yes, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are going to become vloggers.

In their quick introductory video — and we do mean quick, it clocks in at under 30 seconds — the couple is seated in an exquisitely-lit room, and William makes a joke to the camera. “You’ve got to be careful with what you say now,” he says, “because these guys are filming it.” Kate exclaims “I know!” — and that’s the last we see of them in any actual conversational capacity. The rest of the video features flash clips of the Cambridges being very royal and doing royal things; we are expected to assume that this is behind-the-scenes footage, we think. It all feels very clumsily pedestrian, which is curious given that they have the production power of, well, the entire British royal fortune.

They’ve helpfully pre-loaded their channel with categorized content, including mental health and the amorphous “early years,” which focuses on their family and childhood wellness initiatives. Many of the videos are recorded Zoom meetings that took place during the pandemic; like all of us, the royals turned to their laptops to conduct official business. If you’re into watching people’s heads talk about things online with their internet connection is touch-and-go, the Cambridges’ YouTube channel is for you.

Meanwhile, here are some ideas for future videos starring the next-in-lines. A Get Ready With Me video featuring Kate affixing her badges and royal sash onto her gown for a state dinner? William trying out a labor pain simulator? The couple apologizing on-camera after causing a scandal?