Kate Middleton has been enveloped by a media storm since her engagement to Prince William but lessons learned after Diana’s death mean she should be better protected from the paparazzi, insiders say.
From the moment Kate and William announced their engagement in November, the pretty 29-year-old brunette has been a global news sensation and the excitement is building ahead of the wedding on April 29.
“She’s A-star list as far as we’re concerned — she rates as highly as a picture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,” said Joe Sene, head of UK editorial at Splash News and Picture Agency.
But the hoards of paparazzi that followed Diana from before her engagement in 1981 to her death in a Paris car crash 16 years later have largely been absent, thanks to an improved relationship between the press and a newly media-savvy palace.
“You’ve got people around William and Kate that understand the needs of the media and of the public,” said Max Clifford, a leading PR consultant.
He said the press would likely respect the couple’s privacy when they are married, “certainly for a year or so, providing the media gets enough opportunities to take pictures and have a chat from time to time”.
Keen to avoid the negative publicity that followed Diana’s divorce from Prince Charles and her death, the royal palace has accepted it must provide good access to the couple to keep the media onside, Clifford said.
“This is how it has to be if you want to be popular and you want the royal family and the monarchy to continue in this country,” he said.
In return for this access, British newspapers agree under an informal arrangement not to publish photos taken of William and Kate going about their day-to-day lives. The deal works well, insiders say, noting that most of the pictures published of Kate since her engagement have been official trips.