A week ago, Prince Charles launched “Terra Carta,” an “Earth Carter” with new protocols and initiatives for the environment. It seems like a complicated scheme, one which allows businesses (like Bank of America and BP) to “sign on” to direct some of their corporate resources to green causes, with an action plan to “achieving net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and protecting natural ecosystems.” Charles’ plan got some attention in international media and British media, of course. But it felt like it was a one-day story rather than “Charles launching an ambitious new program which manages to be business-friendly and eco-friendly.” Where William just bangs on about being keen, Charles actually put together something rather substantial. Well, more substantial than William, let’s say that.
The thing is, Terra Carta really didn’t get that much attention. It could have been a multi-week story and it just… wasn’t. So this story is very curious, right?
Prince Charles’s spin doctor is quitting his job, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Former BBC man Julian Payne has been in charge of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s public image for five years, during which time their popularity has steadily grown.
In particular, the Duchess has benefited from championing unfashionable causes such as domestic abuse survivors and adult literacy. Last week she launched her own book club on Instagram. Mr Payne is also credited with encouraging Charles, 72, to use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The Prince was also the first Royal to use Zoom, was voted GQ Man of the Year and even launched his own clothing range which was featured in Vogue.
The Prince also addressed fears that he would be a meddling monarch. When asked two years ago if his public campaigning on issues from architecture to the environment would continue once he took the throne, he said: ‘No, it won’t. I’m not that stupid. I do realise it is a separate exercise being sovereign. So I understand entirely how that should operate.’
Mr Payne, 48, is leaving to take up a new job as Chair of Corporate Affairs EMEA for Edelman. His move comes as Amanda McManus returns to her role as Camilla’s private secretary following a year-long sabbatical.
I kind of wonder if this is a mutual thing, like Payne had a better offer AND Charles wanted to shake up his team. Charles really spent the past twenty years trying to painstakingly rebuild his image after his divorce and after Diana’s death. He also used PR gurus to change up Camilla’s image to make her more acceptable as a Queen Consort. But so much of that got undone by The Crown, and so much of that continues to be undone by his sons and their respective dramas. I mean, Harry and Meghan’s exit from the Firm makes Charles look bad, and it hurts him in the long run. It also hurts Charles long-term that William is such a rage monster and a petty a–hole. So… maybe a new PR team will be involved in painstakingly reinventing Charles yet again.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
If you have to reinvent yourself so frequently and in reaction to others, perhaps there is an underlying truth that will never go away. Charles is who Charles is and it is not all pretty despite the do overs.
Fine, dislike him personally.
But isn’t it refreshing that he actually CARES about the planet?
This guy has a history of caring about the environment. And things like architecture. Imagine. A brain. Values.
He’s not perfect but if he established a strong base re: the environment, that would outlast who does his PR, that’d be good.
Like a foundation or other lasting, visible entity.
Obviously, Feminism isn’t his cause.
But the PLANET could be.
Good luck to whoever they hire. They will have their work cut out for them. If they can get Charles to quit whining and trying to throw his weight around about The Crown, then that would be a good start. He needs to get ahead of the next 2 seasons. Luckily he has until 2022.
Rats and sinking ships.
^^This.
I think we’re about to find out some pretty damning stuff that will quash the widely held rumour of being ‘faithful until it was irretrievably broken down’.
Or conversely maybe Charles want to admit he was a sinner in public to get people to forgive him. Problem being that for that approach to work you must first be seen as humble and approachable.
Charles has admitted his sins in public. So has Camilla. This was in the religious service following their civil wedding ceremony. It was a service of ‘Prayer and Reconciliation’, not simply a service of blessing. They used a traditional prayer of confession and received from the Archbishop of Canterbury a declaration of God’s forgiveness and blessing.
@anotherlily.
Yes Chuck admitted his infidelity, however he admitted that it happened after the marriage had broken down, hence the outrage about the Crown’s Season 4.
The ‘redemption arc’ I am speaking of is the one where Chuck admit;s he was an around abusive toe rag (light version) to Diana and the complexities and difficulties of marriage whilst taking a swipe at the inaccuracies of recent dramatizations.
That is why his current spin Doctor has quit, bc much like Andrew’s interview he sees the car crash ahead,
I don’t think Charles has the time to “reinvent” himself yet again. Esp. now, with ALL the social media around, there’s no “hiding” place. No matter what they put out, it can be countered somewhere else by someone else. Couple that with warring grey men courtiers (because you KNOW Willileaks is going to try and undermine Charles at some point for Alpha Dog status), it has all the earmarks a a sh!t show waiting to happen.
When I see pictures of him I’m so often reminded of those shrunken apple-head dolls. He looks like such a sad apple-head doll in that top picture.
Lol, right you are!
Probably a mutual thing as Charles moves to a quasi-monarch role. Different role, different needs. The reaction to everything Diana and the Crown was an unmitigated disaster. Coupled with Charles’ non-reaction to everything that went on with the Sussexes and it’s time for a change. William is out of control and Charles allowed William to go unchecked for most of it. William may be a rage-monster, but Charles is the heir. He needs to start acting like it, regardless of his mother and her way of doing things. Enough is enough. He needs to show strength and character. None of what he’s done has shown that.
YES! Things HAVE to change in that family! When Charles walked Meghan down the aisle I really hoped he’d finally grown up.
I bet they try to shake things up with a ‘diverse’ hire or someone like a Sara Latham.
Julian Payne was caught liking negative tweets about Harry and Meghan. This was over a year ago but nothing happened to Payne.
That Times story about settling the lawsuit to spare the royal family would have been partly about Charles and Camilla because they advised Meghan.
I wonder if Payne finally moving on had anything to do with that.
“I’m not that stupid” — what a sad thing to say about his long-time passions, and ones that could benefit the world with true leadership…
I was struck by that too. While he has done horrible things in his personal life, he has done well in other areas.
I really dont get Charles and his advisors choices in dealing with Harry and Meghan. Charles walking Meghan down the aisle and linking arms with Doria gave him the best international press ive seen him have in my lifetime. It was all “Charles is so kind and understanding to step in like this”. Camilla even milked it in that documentary about his 70th birthday later this year talking about how “thats just the kind of person he is”. And YET instead of just basking in this newer softer image of himself he decided to go back to his tride and true strategy: throw his sons under the bus to make him look like emotional assholes so that he looks Father of the Year with that Jobsom biography that came out. People forget this but that’s how the smear campaign against pregnant Meghan started. He took this woman who gave him good PR, wore accessories from his charities, and seemed to push his son closer to him and threw her under the bus. And then worse he let the son who would never stab him in the back get bullied out of the country so that he’s stuck with the son who loves to have his flankies in the press openly question whether he should be skipped over in favor of himself.
Think about how much easier dealing with blowback from the Crown would have been if Charles still had Harry and Meghan around. He could push back on the idea that he’s petty, insecurez and jealous by wheeling out his popular son and daughter in law to show that he has softened and can deal with not having the spotlight but instead they wanted us to believe he’d never be cruel to Diana when he was incapable of properly supporting her youngest son and the constant moaning of his supporters in the press about said son being attached to the royal brand ensured that when his son launched his new charitable entity he mentioned only his mother and not the royal family. He played himself. Not sure any new PR guru can fix that
But I thought William introduced Zoom to the family! And now you tell me Charles was the first?! I’ve been lied to!!!!
Tbh, that’s my favorite tidbit since William made it a big deal about him suggesting the Zoom meetings and this is all “yeah Charles did it first.” Which of course we already knew.
That was a pointed comment wasn’t it LMAO
In general the right wing doesn’t want to promote environmentalism, so it would make sense that publications owned by Murdoch and the like would make little of his initiative. I’m not sure it could be turned into a multi week story though in any case.
The sad fact is that any stories involving the royal family only gain traction and ongoing coverage when they are gossipy and sensational, at least where the tabloids are concerned.
Catfight-inducing articles rely on responses and counter responses from “sources” to drag the story on over time.
My only thought here was that anyone who refers to domestic violence as an unfashionable subject should sod off. My patience has been annihilated over the past four years and I’m rather happy that more people have been empowered to call out lazy, vague parsing.
+1
The Terra Carta has a host of international corporations, including big banks, involved. I seem to remember the royal rota being up in arms that Harry spoke at an event put on JP Morgan. Not a word about Charles working the same big banks. As for Mr. Payne, his job at Clarence House was probably a stepping stone to a bigger and much better paying job. I don’t think there was any fall out from the Crown or Harry and Meghan. It would seem that Charles approved of the work that Payne was doing especially regarding Harry and Meghan because was liking tweets that criticised Harry and Meghan and he would have been the one putting out stories that Charles was paying for Harry and Meghan after they left in March and that he helped pay for their house.
I do feel sorry for him sometimes. His mother is such a petty vindictive,controlling hobbit that she can’t even just go drink gin all day and let the man finally be king. He is so old and the way she won’t let go he might never be king
I think Charles is about to confess on national TV and throw himself at the mercy of the UK public.
That may have worked a few years ago, but now that the full horrors of his treatment of Diana were unleashed, this would be a dumb move.
He needs to lie in the bed he made and hope he outlives his mother so he can get a few years on the Royal potty.
Julian payne is the asshole that was being shady towards meghan on twitter. I hope he ends up broke. As for Charles, say what you want but this man knows how to put together tangible projects and initiatives.
I can totally see a media war between charles and william once the queen dies lmao. I don’t think he likes the way people talk about them as of willy is already king.
I think that media war is already happening and Charles is winning.
Gosh, these British royals long for the days of Empire don’t they. Always trying to embiggen and foist themselves on the rest of us. Charles, like William craves this attention and spotlight and are desperate to have a popular legacy, unlike other international royals who don’t feel the need to spearhead and impose themselves on an international movement. When last did the emperor of japan, king of spain or Norway pull a stunt like this.
And Charles, when big banks donate to these causes, they are not reducing their dividends or bonuses. They are jacking up their interest rates and bank charges to do so. It ultimately falls on the consumers. So, when is the royal family going to show the way by using their own funds to start these bold ventures?
That is probably the truest thing I’ve ever read.
I wonder if this is just bc they want someone new who will be their PR person when he becomes king? Or if Charles will start relying on BP and the courtiers there more? (God what a mistake that would be!)
I also want to point out for the petty ones like me that Camilla’s first book club choice is The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. I howled when I saw that.
So many meanings to picking that book. And Mantel herself was the original one to point out the shallow nature of Kate’s image which got PM David Cameron to defend her laziness. But yeah let’s pretend that Kate was criticized on the same level as Meghan…
@Nic that was exactly what I thought of – her comments about Kate generated enough buzz to get David Cameron involved! I know it was years ago but I really don’t believe these books weren’t vetted and that someone didn’t bring that up to Camilla, and she was probably like “eh, the woman was right.”
He launches interesting and demanding long term projects but who is going to oversee them when he is King and dead? He’s really daft if he thinks William will do anything of note – he’s unable to look past his bald head.
He should have stood up and fought for Harry and Meghan. He lost the only two capable people to carry out his work beyond his life span.
PC’s comment about not being able to continue those things when he becomes King is the wrong strategy. If he wants the Monarchy to continue, he needs to continue his work and make is clear that it’s not political at all. Climate change is a global human issue. He should stand his ground and let the RR’s and politicians cry in their beer.
It seems that NotSoSimpleTaylor said a couple of months ago that the press offices would be consolidated under one press office. This would be the ideal time to get someone in who knows what they’re doing and consolidate now. When I say someone who knows what they’re doing, I mean someone who actually is a PR person. I think that if CH had remained silent during the Crown and Diana hooha things would be better. Lot’s of bad choices and I have to assume that the previous PR guy either agreed with PC about how to respond or didn’t argue strongly enough against it. It’ll be interesting going forward.
No amount of PR or reshuffling staff can help change his image. People will forever remember how he and camilla treated Diana.
I’m not going to be suprised when he hires american staff or those from corporate or international affairs field. The sussexs have become the model they all emulate and unfortunately for them copying them doesn’t guarantee success or attention. Both chuck and Billy lack the charisma needs to create excitement for their work & projects but nevertheless that hasn’t stopped Charles from actually doing something unlike William
I’m shocked they’d call the issue of domestic violence “unfashionable”. How does TheFail have any women readers?? Have they all internalised misogyny that much?? Sh-t.
Kaiser I always love the photos you choose of Charles lmao 🤣
Also, Kaiser was right about Kimye, Wreathgate, Tatler and more – so I’m willing to believe this PR guy quitting is suss. Either rats leaving a sinking ship or Charles lashing out 🤔