Is the Royal Family’s strategy changing?




GB News’ Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker has provided his exclusive insight into the Royal Family’s changing strategy, King Charles’s support for red squirrels, and the potential changes taking place at Frogmore Cottage.Sign up for the GB News Royal Newsletter to get the latest analysis straight to your inbox.Is the Royal Family’s strategy changing?Earlier this month, the Prince of Wales made a private visit to St George’s Park to meet the “team behind the team” supporting England’s campaign to become World Cup champions this summer. In an engagement not recorded in the Court Circular until this week, the prince spent time with staff working under manager Thomas Tuchel, including coaches and analysts shaping the tactics and performance of England’s football World Cup squad.He also met with medical, nutrition and sports science teams responsible for player welfare and recovery.Kensington Palace reposted a 58-second clip on social media from the England team, showing a montage of shots from William’s visit. In a voiceover, the future King said: “You don’t get as much acknowledgement or credit as you deserve. Not everyone gets to see all the hard work you put in. The success of the players is from the foundations you build, so thank you. “All of the things are coming in a line now: the Lionness’ successes they’ve had, two men’s Euros finals, it feels like we are closing in on that ambition. Go with my blessings and my best wishes to all of you. “Enjoy it, look after each other and give your best. I’m sure we will do well, so good luck.”It is understood that the prince wanted to shine a light on the important unsung heroes of England’s World Cup squad as President of the FA. The decision not to enter the engagement into the Court Circular until the end of the month has been the practice of Kensington Palace on more than one occasion. It is also the latest in a growing list of engagements where the media were not present.Before you all come at me, this is by no means a complaint. On the contrary, social media has given the future King a golden opportunity to communicate directly with the public – a carefully curated strategy that appears to be working. Opinion polls consistently show he and the Princess of Wales are consistently the most popular royals with the British public.Over the last few years, Kensington Palace has expanded their inhouse video team, trusted to capture and publish the kind of intimate content not possible with conventional news crews. Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, has a cameraman dedicated to capturing the King and Queen’s engagements, who is seconded from the UK broadcasters.The difference between the two strategies, of course, is Kensington Palace sometimes only allows their own cameras in. What is the outcome? Well, special access to the Wales family getting ready for the Coronation inside their private Kensington Palace apartment in 2023, for example.The world is changing, and social media and digital content is most definitely the future. We have already seen the King collaborate with streaming giants Amazon Prime and Netflix.Prince William even spoke to Apple TV+ about his plans for the monarchy, a further sign the traditional monarchy is adapting to the rapidly evolving media landscape. However, the Royal Family is answerable to British taxpayers, who fund their public work. The challenge for the Royal Family is making sure they resonate with a vast majority of the British people, and the Commonwealth.Perhaps not everybody actively seeks out royal content on social media, or have their algorithms attuned to royal engagements.King goes nuts for red squirrelsWho would have thought King Charles would be so thrilled to learn about squirrels’ nuts?Well, that’s exactly what happened this week during a visit to the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s York Biotech Campus on Tuesday.The agency is attempting to limit the threatening grey squirrel population, which is not native to the UK, by using a special type of contraceptive in their nuts.His Majesty was shown how oral contraceptives are fed to grey squirrels to slow their birth rate and help the endangered red squirrels thrive.Saving the UK native species is something His Majesty has been passionate about for a long time.He has been patron of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust for almost two decades, and seemed very interested in the contraceptive method.Dr Julie Lane, head of the National Wildlife Management Centre at the APHA, told His Majesty: “What a wonderful day you’ve given us.“You’ve been championing our red squirrels for decades now, which is why we’ve been so keen to show you the work we’ve been doing here at the Animal and Plant Health Agency.“Without you, this work would not be happening at all.”She continued: “Your leadership with respect to looking after our native species, we’re so grateful for.“Plus, your innate understanding that we need to be in harmony with nature to protect our special species.”As a gift, His Majesty was presented with a framed photograph of a red squirrel by field ecologist Erin Thomas, who took the photograph herself at the nearby Castle Howard in the Yorkshire Arboretum.King Charles said it was “fantastic” and thanked her for the gift.GB News’ Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker has explored whether the Royal Family’s strategy is changing | GETTY / GB NEWSIs the final trace of Harry and Meghan about to be wiped from the House of Windsor?Is the final trace of Prince Harry and Meghan about to be wiped from the Windsor estate?Well, it is certainly a possibility.Officials are considering whether their former marital home, Frogmore Cottage, can be converted into a number of small residential dwellings rather than one large mansion.The Grade II-listed property in Windsor Castle’s Home Park had £2.4 million of taxpayers’ money spent on renovating it, only to be lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for 10 months, before they stood down as working royals and moved to America.The couple were asked to remove their remaining possessions and leave the property permanently three years ago, shortly after the publication of Prince Harry’s controversial memoir Spare.They have since repaid the public money spent on refurbishments in full.After the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor turned down the use of the property in exchange for moving out of Royal Lodge, the property remained empty.Then, the Sun reported that officials are looking at changing Frogmore Cottage into five small residential units.It is understood that no decision has been made, and Prince Harry has opted for hotels, rather than royal properties, when he travels to the UK for charity work and his court battles.