Inside William and Kate's Caribbean tour blunders that 'damaged royal brand'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Royal tours are meant to go off without a hitch, but Prince William and Kate Middleton 's Caribbean trip has been littered with PR blunders.Images and optics for the royal family are paramount and this trip hasn't looked good.Instead, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are making headlines for their missteps.The tour's defining image may be William and Kate greeting children through a metal fence in Jamaica as the youngsters' arms stretch through the wire.Another image that raised eyebrows was of the couple dressed in costume, waving from the back of an open top Land Rover.The brand of the monarchy - and William and Kate's reputation - has been severely wounded, writes the Mirror's royal editor, who has been following the couple on their trip.Here, Russell Myers of the Mirror reports from the royal Caribbean tour.

Lauded for being the fresh faces of the monarchy in an ­ever-changing world, William and Kate may look back on this week as a time that shaped their future more than any.As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on their first major tour since the start of the pandemic, they were faced with the harsh reality that the world is a very different place from our pre-Covid memories.George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a white oppressor has made all ­institutions ask questions of themselves, and in a world dominated by images and optics, the standout instances on this trip could not have been more wrong.Indeed it seems a jolly trip down memory lane was the foundation for this quite often haphazardly organised ode to a bygone era.The excitement that normally accompanies one of these trips was swiftly replaced with intense nervousness.If, like us, you love a good dose of celebrity gossip then we've got you covered.F