Today, William and Kate released a very sweet and very staged family video in honor of their 10th wedding anniversary. The video, which shows the couple and their three young children romping through a picturesque English countryside, engaging in such wholesome activities as gardening and marshmallow roasting, has been praised by royal fans. Indeed, the Daily Mail reports that its “candid” and “intimate” nature apparently left some in tears, while other viewers expressed that “this is what Diana would have wanted.”
It’s an intense reaction to the brief clip, which is set to twinkling music and unfortunately redolent of an ad for off-road SUVs. Of course, it is cute — what with Louis’s chunky cheeks and Kate’s jaunty outdoor gear — and it’s more than we tend to get from them, but intimate and candid is a stretch.
In any case, a 40-second commercial about the royal couple’s idyllic family life is a little jarring given the recent description of life at the palace shared by Meghan and Harry in their bombshell Oprah interview. The clip, framed as “a behind-the-scenes look” at the real Will and Kate, is more than a little incongruous with the defected royals’ descriptions of racism and other cruelties. Meanwhile, the royal family is still taking public steps to address those accusations. Ah, well, at the end of the day, what else would “the firm” do but put something out into the world that says, Everything is just fine, thanks!
