A while ago, Princess Kate, the most popular member of the British royal family, had not appeared in public for a long time. Various exaggerated conspiracy theories were spread, and the image of the entire royal family fell to the bottom. But then the whole incident turned from a meme into a cancer. What happened? What happened? Today, let us talk about "Princess Kate's Cancer Incident"! hiho~ Hello everyone, I am Zhiqi! At the beginning of this year, "Where is Kate #whereisKateMiddleton" became a popular hashtag on the British community because the British Princess Kate, who was very active in the media, did not appear in public for more than 2 months after last Christmas ! In mid-March, Princess Kate posted a photo to refute the rumors and wanted to tell everyone "I'm fine." However, it triggered more serious conspiracy theories. Some people thought that she was beaten by a mistress until she was disfigured. Some people thought that she had died long ago. Later, Kate admitted through the video that she was The cancer incident has finally come to an end. Some people think that the entire public relations process of the British royal family is simply a public relations disaster textbook , which means that their past handling methods have not kept up with the times! So in today’s video we’re going to first take a look at what happened to Kate? What crazy speculations are there among the public? Are there any problems with the royal family’s public relations handling? But before we start today’s discussion, let’s go into some business service time! [Where is Kate? 】 In January this year, the royal family officially stated that Kate was hospitalized for abdominal surgery. Although the operation went well , she would need to rest until Easter, which is the end of March. This news initially did not arouse much suspicion , but starting in February, more and more people began to think that Something is wrong because since the death of Queen Elizabeth , Kate has almost become the biggest focus of the royal family . She was born as a commoner, has a people-friendly style, is elegant and beautiful, has a calm image, is always optimistic and strong, and is regarded as a stabilizing force for the royal family and even the entire UK. Even if she is just born, After giving birth, Kate was able to make a radiant and perfect appearance in just 7 hours. She was also very active on social media in the past , but this time, Kate suddenly disappeared from the media for more than a month. In the middle, there was only a simple announcement from the royal family. "She went for surgery." On the other hand, in early February, the royal family very clearly informed the public that "King Charles III" was suffering from cancer . Then, at the end of February, Kate's husband Prince William also missed important events without warning, and also The refusal to reveal the reason for this unusualness made the public feel very strange , so the hashtag "Where is Kate #whereisKateMiddleton" has become more and more popular since the end of February . In early March, a paparazzi photographed Kate driving , but many people doubted that. Just to calm worries, Kate posted a Mother's Day photo with her three children in mid-March and said it was taken by William. Unexpectedly, this post turned into a fuel to put out the fire and triggered a more serious conspiracy theory [I wanted to refute the rumor but mentioned it. Oil to put out fires] Many people found that Kate’s “Mother’s Day photo” not only had obvious traces of retouching , but was also very unprofessional, such as cuffs, zippers, fingers, etc. There were some inaccuracies or blurry areas 2024 3 On March 11, Kate publicly apologized and admitted that she had indeed retouched the photos. She said: "Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally try to edit photos." "I'm sorry for the confusion that photo caused everyone." "I hope Everyone can celebrate a happy Mother’s Day.” However, this apology may not have made everyone happier. After she admitted to editing the picture, well-known news agencies including Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, and Getty Images immediately downloaded it. The Associated Press emphasized that their news reports would only use "accurate" images if they had been "altered" or They will never use "digitally manipulated" images in the past. These major newspapers rarely give such strict instructions and even fight together to remove the front page, especially if the target is the royal family. Therefore, Kate's photos and apology have also been interpreted as "royal fraud" ” has led to conspiracy theories on the Internet reaching a new peak [Conspiracy theories are everywhere! 】 Because Kate’s public relations performance in the past was almost perfect and never made mistakes , but now she took the initiative to post a photoshopped photo full of flaws . Moreover, this time Kate not only took the initiative to apologize , but also published the post in a personal tone, which is completely unlike the royal family in the past. Perhaps because of these circumstances, many people find it difficult to understand the conspiracy theories circulating on the Internet, and there are more and more conspiracy theories circulating on the Internet . The first common conspiracy theory is the "affair theory". This school of argument believes that Kate and William's affair There should be problems in marriage! Because Kate didn’t wear a wedding ring in that Mother’s Day photo , some people even speculated that Kate never showed up because she was beaten to disfigurement by Prince William’s mistress , and that mistress was even Kate’s friend. The second common conspiracy theory is that The "death theory" school of argument believes that someone must have died! Some people say that Kate has died a long time ago, so the royal family will go to any lengths to cover up the news . Others speculate that it may not be Kate who died but other people in the royal family. They just want to use Kate as a smoke bomb to divert the public's attention. Of course, there are many other conspiracy theories . For example, some people think that Kate has an eating disorder. Some people say that she had a Brazilian butt lift surgery. Some people say that Kate should donate her kidney to King Charles and use it to become a child. The Queen's opportunity saw public opinion continue to boil and get out of control. On March 22, the royal family and Kate finally issued an official announcement that Kate was actually suffering from cancer [Kate: Actually, I have cancer! 】 In this video, Kate said that the abdominal surgery in January this year was indeed successful. However, during the operation, the doctor also discovered cancer cells, so she is currently receiving "preventive" chemotherapy because this treatment requires time to recover. Kate asked the public to give them some quiet private space. Kate said that she and her husband are still trying to figure out how to explain their illness to their children , but she promised to take good care of herself to recover as soon as possible and return to work. At the same time, she also encouraged everyone People who are fighting cancer. After the release of this video, the direction of public opinion changed dramatically. Some accounts that spread conspiracy theories immediately deleted their statements, posts or public apologies . The British people generally expressed sympathy or sadness. Many people called on the public to respect her privacy. Most of the comments made by Taiwanese viewers under relevant news cheered for Kate, and some cancer patients also felt that they were really inspired by her . However, there are still a few people who insist that this video may be a deepfake or an AI forged real movie . The water is still very deep. On the other hand, compared with the U-turn in public opinion, the attitude of the mainstream British media has been consistent from beginning to end. From the beginning, they tried to help refute the rumors and later continued to call on the public to respect Kate's privacy. Of course, these efforts None of them are as effective as one of Kate's videos , and this also makes many people think that things will turn into a series of farces because of the royal family's public relations principles, which are very problematic! [The long-term public relations principles of the royal family] Regarding the public relations principles of the British royal family , perhaps we can explain it from the former queen "Elizabeth II". The queen's motto is "Never complain, never explain" "Never complain, never explain" Simple Generally speaking, its core concept is to strive to be low- key and neutral, to abide by one's duties and duties , and not to reveal or express any "personal opinions other than the Queen's identity" in public . Under this principle, the Queen herself has never become the focus of gossip. She is perfect. , the almost uncontroversial image is respected by everyone When the Queen passed away, even Putin expressed his condolences. For the royal family, this public relations principle not only allows them to keep their housework at home , but also displays a consistent "royal image" to the outside world to meet the outside world's expectations of them . However, these " "Low-key" The principle of "no complaints and no explanations" is actually not very consistent with human nature . Even members of the royal family may not be able to fully abide by it. For example, Prince Harry published an autobiography in early 2023. He and his wife Meghan often take the initiative Pushing herself into the spotlight and even trying to expose the problems of the royal family through various means . Of course, compared to others, Kate is almost the one who follows these principles the most among the royal family members, and everyone also thinks that she has a lot of the beauty of a queen. However , even such an accident happened to Kate, which made many people feel that this represents the royal family's past style, which no longer works. [Why didn't the previous style work? 】 Someone analyzed it. The reason why the previous attitude of not explaining much was effective had something to do with Diana on the one hand, and the times on the other hand. At that time, Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana , died in a car accident after being chased by paparazzi at a high speed. Therefore, the British media later focused on the private lives of the royal family members. The two are more restrained and can gradually achieve a mutually beneficial balance. But in today's community era, everyone can be a self-media. They are no longer restricted by traditional media . Those who want to know more will always do whatever they can to find out more. Inquiring into and speculating on the private lives of the royal family members, some people like to take advantage of the popularity of the topic to attract attention and enhance their own popularity through various means . Therefore, some people feel that the silence or caution of the royal family has indirectly spawned conspiracy theories because "if you don't tell the story "Speak clearly, and the public will help you figure it out." Such a development will not only harm the royal family's own image , but will also destroy the trust between the royal family and the people , especially now that it is easier to fake and trust is more difficult to establish, even if the rumors have to be refuted afterwards. It may not be effective, but conspiracy theories have a fatal attraction for people . Professor "Yates" of the University of Liverpool analyzed that the reason why the "Kate conspiracy" resonates with people is because the British royal family has always been very mysterious . It is human nature to know secrets, and the process of everyone participating in the discussion can make him feel very satisfied , "I seem to know some secrets." "Arlington", a conspiracy theory expert at King's College London, also said that when everyone is concerned about something, When he is curious about something but cannot get the answer, he will start to make random guesses. Once people start to make random guesses or feel that everything is hidden, any official statement will be more likely to be questioned and harder to convince him. "This is the one in front of me." The truth [our point of view] After reading the whole story, we feel that this outbreak of conspiracy theories may be the result of many special cases . On the one hand, Kate happens to be the most watched person in the royal family . On the other hand, Charles happened recently. The royal family seems to have two sets of standards when it comes to handling the king's cancer . On the other hand, we also speculate that this may be because Kate is relatively young? If Kate is replaced by Queen Elizabeth , she wants to maintain privacy in the same way. The discussion may not be so crazy . In this incident, we often can't help but compare the difference between "royal family" and "idol" because it seems that it is almost difficult for both of them to maintain their privacy . However, idols are mostly Each individual has his or her own personality, and they can just maintain it by themselves. However, the royal family’s personality is usually relatively abstract, such as being responsible, never giving up, etc. These images are not only more difficult to shape and less humane, but the royal family is also more It is a "whole" . It is really difficult for everyone to maintain this unified external image for a long time. In addition, we also observed that the performance of the traditional British media in this incident was very restrained . Interestingly, although they tried very hard to help The rumor was refuted but it seems that it was completely unable to quell public opinion or various conspiracy theories from the media . The key to the change of events was that Kate released the video herself. So from this perspective, we feel that compared to the past Queen’s era, the royal family mostly speaks through the media. Today's members may also need to become more accustomed to treating themselves as "self-media" to establish new trust relationships through real-time mass communication . Of course, this method is also likely to make the lives of royal members more stressful. In any case, We all very much hope that Princess Kate can successfully overcome the disease and recover as soon as possible . Finally, let me ask everyone, what surprised you most about this whole incident? Finally, if you like today's video, please share it to let more people know about "Princess Kate's cancer incident"! In addition, you can also click here to see "Princess Diana" and "Harry and Meghan's Departure from the Royal Family." So, today's Zhiqi Qiqi comes to an end here. See you tomorrow night!
