All The Angles

On the King’s coronation, Erin Vanderhoof examines how the royal family’s power struggles are playing out in the press and on social media—and whether Charles can revolutionize his family’s PR strategy for a new era

- By Erin Vanderhoof

Near the end of 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex toured their future home, Frogmore Cottage, a historic white-brick house a stone’s throw from state apartments in Windsor Castle. The cottage, part of a larger estate named for the riverside’s marshy, amphibian-friendly habitat, is right down the street from Frogmore House, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle held their wedding reception, and 20 miles from Kensington Palace, where they had been living—and where the mood had started to sour.

In hindsight, Harry and Meghan’s escape from Kensington Palace may have been the beginning of the end of their royal lives. The pressures of that year had worn on everyone, from the family to their staff. There had been two weddings (the second being Princess Eugenie’s to Jack Brooksbank), a slew of royal tours, and to top it off, allegations that Meghan was a bullying boss after various staff resignations (including that of her personal assistant). Meghan denied these rumors.