Yesterday Princess Laurentien was in the evening TV show on the commercial channel RTL 4. A few weeks ago her husband Prince Constantijn was in the evening TV show on the public channel NPO1. Both are "infotainment" programs (a combination of information and amusement), people seated around a table and telling about current affairs, a book, their charity, whatever.
I know this is 2020 and royals are no more far away, safely locked in Soestdijk Palace, but I long for more distance. Seeing Princess Laurentien, with the very best intentions (awareness about illiteracy) next to an "influencer" or an artist like Gerard Joling (known for quite queer jokes and jibes bordering vulgarity) is making a member of the Royal House like any celebbie.
And the nature of these shows is that the royal is asked "What do you think?" (about farmers protesting against strict pollution limits, about the Sussexes leaving the Royal House, about a paedophile giving a shocking interview on TV) and then the royals are "eh, uh..." talking with flour in their mouth, as is the Dutch saying (avoiding pitfalls).
In my opinion it is perfect that the brother and sister-in-law of the King have media presence for their activities, but I would rather invite the media at a Start Up - event, or have a documentary about illiteracy than 10 minutes of babbling about their topic (and then 40 minutes listening to a fashionista commenting on Academy Awards outfits, to a mayor warning for Salafist influences in muslim schools, to a crime fighter telling about an cold case of 25 years ago, Donald Trump's orange tanline).
If I was the media advisor to the King: please, be more restrictive in the sort of tv-shows. Queen (now Princess) Beatrix exactly had her distant reputation because of keeping the media at distance indeed. She knew the monarchy simply needs to difference from that fashionista puppet influencing on Instagram, seated left of Princess Laurentien and a artist almost choking about his own queer vulgar jokes and making jibes to the presenter, at her at her right side.
I do not understand that the royals do not have this antenna. Or maybe they have, but Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien probably want do downplay their royalty as much as possible: with the three princesses growing, they will automatically become less prominent.
But for so far Prince Constantijn is the most senior royal after the King and Queen. He will be the Regent over the minor Queen Catharina-Amalia in case something happens. May we expect some distance and decorum?
In Belgium one would never see Princess Astrid joining in a tv-show, or the Infanta Doña Elena in Spain. Unthinkable. That format does not fit and is hard to control. Imagine that the Princess is asked about the arch-difficult formation of a government in her country, or that the Infanta is asked anout Iñaki? Such a setting has an own dynamic. It is really strange that the Dutch Court has become so easy with this.
