David Dimbleby, presenter of the BBC’s new series, What's the Monarchy For?, is worried about the British monarchy. “Declining support marks a problem,” he says in a BBC essay written ahead of the upcoming series. “I've spent much of my career commentating on royal occasions, and over the past two years I've been looking at the institution in close detail [...] trying to understand how it works and why it has had such a hold on Britain.”
Dimbleby believes that Prince William may be the solution to their problem. Citing Prince William’s appearance with Eugene Levy, and his arrival via e-scooter, Dimbleby praised “the image getting across, that William is just an ordinary Joe.”
“The social media posts that Prince William and his family share to their 17.1 million followers have a similar approach,” Dimbleby explains. “With many showing them off-duty, with videos shot in woods, on sand dunes,” these posts help to strike “a more modern tone.” Dimbleby cites Prince William and Princess Kate’s YouGov public approval ratings––76 percent and 73 percent respectively, higher than any other member of the Royal Family––as a positive sign.
In his conversation with Eugene Levy, Prince William expressed that “there are points when you look at tradition and go, is that still fit for purpose today? Is that still the right thing to do? Are we still doing and having the most impact we could be having?”
Anna Whitelock, a professor of the history of monarchy at City, University of London, echoed this to Dimbleby, saying "I don't think the idea of dressing up in all the stuff for the coronation is something that appeals to him." However, Dimbleby felt that removing the pomp and ceremony “comes with risks.”
The British Monarchy is part of the United Kingdom’s cultural identity, and it is ever-changing. Rory Sutherland, an advertising expert, told Dimbleby, “obviously an 18th-century monarchy might look absurd to us today, but at the time it was effectively adapting to changed circumstances, which is one of the reasons it is still around and lots of monarchies aren't.”
Prince William’s ability to modernize and adapt is key to their future, but David Dimbleby still feels that “no matter what changes Prince William makes––nor Prince George after him––the bigger question of what becomes of the monarchy in the distant future may not be theirs to decide.”
