Being a public figure comes with a lot of responsibility. People are watching — and listening – to their every move. This is especially true for the royal family who, despite having no explicit power over the government — or the citizens in the UK — still has quite a bit of influence. And with great power and influence comes great responsibility. Unfortunately, even the royals don’t always wield that power correctly. There have been several moments in history when the royals said one thing publicly and did another behind the scenes.
These mixed messages can be confusing not just to us regular people, but even to members of the royal family themselves. When they’re not all united on a message or on what something means or what they’re going to do, it can cause chaos in the family, which makes them look messy to the public and destabilizes the notion of the monarchy.
Most royals have been guilty of a mixed message or two in their lifetimes. Here are some of the most unforgettable ones.
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Charles' Marriage to Diana
As anyone who watched season four of The Crown knows, King Charles never really wanted to marry Princess Diana. He was in love with Camilla Parker Bowles, but he married Diana because the royal family thought she was best suited to be the future queen. While he may have pretended to the public for years that he and Diana had a storybook romance, he was cheating on her with Camilla all the while.
Diana's Camera-Ready Face
Royal expert Katie Nicholl wrote in her book William and Harry that Prince William had a problem with some of his mother’s mixed signals. As he got older, William knew that his parents weren’t getting along, but Diana would often make nice for the cameras. The young prince reportedly didn’t like her putting on a face for them or encouraging him to do the same.
Kate Prepared To Marry William Years Before He Proposed
In 2008, Kate Middleton was presenting herself to the public just as Prince William’s girlfriend. They’d recently come back from a breakup and were taking things slowly — or so it seemed. Privately, she was apparently preparing for life as future queen. She reportedly even emailed her friends and requested that they start calling her Catherine instead of Kate because it was thought to be a more formal, queenly name. (It’s what William now calls her, too.)
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Meghan & Kate Getting Along in Public
When rumors of a feud between Kate and the Duchess of Sussex began to circulate, the two royal women tried to quell speculation by appearing in public together. They attended Wimbledon, and laughed and smiled for photographers, and chatted happily during the walk to Christmas Mass. Seeing how things ended up, though, it seems they were just pulling a Princess Diana and trying to make things look better than they were.
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The Queen's Christmas Address
Some people were upset when Queen Elizabeth spoke during her 2018 Christmas address of things like “generosity and self-sacrifice” while sitting in her lavish palace paid for by the citizens of the UK. The contrast between what she was saying and where she was sitting was definitely stark.
The Queen Leaving Harry & Meghan Out
We may have thought all was well between the Queen and her grandson Prince Harry while he was feuding with the rest of their family, but reportedly Harry and Meghan were angry at the Queen for mixed messages she sent leading up to their exit. First, she didn’t include Harry in a “line of succession” portrait taken with Charles, William, and George. Then she didn’t feature any photos of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during her Christmas address. Instead, she displayed pictures of the Waleses, her husband, her father, and Charles and Camilla.
Reportedly, these two perceived “snubs” were key triggers for Harry and Meghan eventually stepping down as working royals. Guess we never really know what’s happening behind the scenes of the royal family, huh?
Prince Andrew & the Jeffrey Epstein Case
Prince Andrew has caused controversy for his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He’s even stepped back from his working royal role as a result of public pushback. But while he publicly denounced Epstein and pledged to help with ongoing investigations, the prince has allegedly not cooperated as promised.
Princess Anne's Trump 'Snub'
During a NATO reception in 2019, many believed Princess Anne snubbed US President Donald Trump by shrugging and not greeting him. But reports indicate that Anne was merely shrugging to tell her mother that there weren’t any other dignitaries in line to greet, it was just her. The royals may not always agree with American politics, but they never show it.
Harry & Meghan's Royal Exit
There were so many mixed messages about Harry and Meghan stepping down as working royals. First, they said that they’d had internal discussions about the exit and would be leaving immediately, but then a Buckingham Palace statement said that conversations were still in early stages. In their own statement, the Sussexes said they planned to continue honoring their duty to the Queen and their patronages, but then the Queen wanted a full, clean break between them and the monarchy. Honestly, it was a whole mess.
… And Then Moving to Los Angeles
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly originally planned to live in Canada and wanted a quiet, normal life. But then plans changed, and they moved to Los Angeles. That’s pretty much the opposite of where someone should be when they want a quiet life. The paparazzi are everywhere in LA, and it makes no sense for two people who hate media coverage to live there.
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Not So Financially Independent
As part of their big exit speech, Meghan and Harry mentioned wanting to be financially independent — but then, they immediately had to start relying on Charles to help pay for their security costs when Canada stopped footing the bill. According to ABC News, by September 2020, they did finally achieve financial independence after signing a deal with Netflix to create content for the streaming giant.
William & Kate Not Always Wearing Masks in Public
In the thick of the pandemic in 2020, the Prince and Princess of Wales seemed to learn firsthand the dangers of not wearing a mask after William fell ill in April right around the time Charles did — and they were spotted wearing cloth face coverings on a few occasions. But then they were also at several engagements without masks on, which sent a mixed message to UK citizens about what proper health and safety should have been at the time.
… And Not Social Distancing
In addition to sometimes flouting Britain’s mask rules, the royals weren’t always the best about keeping distance between them and others. We’d all like to get close to William and Kate, but at a time when the pandemic was at its worst in 2020, many believed that they should have been leading by example at every event they went to.
Meghan & Harry's Bombshell Tell-All
After the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Family came out — which claimed to be Meghan and Harry’s side of their big royal exit — the couple denied having any involvement. But the book’s authors claim that they did speak with the couple when writing the book. So which is it? Either way, the book is juicy.
Prince George's Name
Here’s a funny mixed message from little Prince George. Kate and William named their oldest son George Alexander Louis, but he’s going around telling people that he has a different name entirely. In 2019, he reportedly told a dog walker he met, “I’m called Archie.” Um, what? If that’s his nickname, it’s hard to see where it came from. But, hey, maybe he was just giving us a hint about the Sussex baby name.
Charles' Behavior Toward Andrew
Now that Charles is the head of the monarchy, he’s been sending mixed messages when it comes to his brother Andrew. Though Andrew’s past transgressions have kept him from working with the royals in many capacities, Charles still involves him in enough royal business that it leaves people confused about what his stance actually is.
Harry & Meghan's Eviction
In March 2023, news broke that Harry and Meghan had been evicted from Frogmore Cottage less than two months after Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, hit shelves. Given that the couple had been paying rent to the monarchy in order to keep their UK home in good standing — despite the fact that it had been a wedding gift to them from Queen Elizabeth — it was truly shocking when Charles essentially told them to get packing and be out by the summer.
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