When you’re a royal, photo ops are par for the course – but when’s the last time you
saw a princess pose for a selfie? It turns out the royal family and
social media have their relationship status set to "it's complicated."
Unlike the rest of us, the British royal family certainly can't post whatever their
hearts desire on their social media accounts. Typically, royal updates can come from the
official royal accounts — but the family doesn't even personally run any of those
accounts. According to Popsugar, a social media manager manages them to keep up with updates.
The main reason why royal family members can't have their own public social media
platforms is to keep up with the family's image — since they're
not allowed to make any public declarations outside the palace.
"So of course they're going to get frustrated, I totally understand."
Princess Eugenie currently has a public Instagram account because she's technically not considered a
"working royal" and doesn't make any appearances at events on behalf of the family. She and
her sister, Princess Beatrice, are allowed to have active and public social media platforms.
If you're out in public and just so happen to run into a celebrity you know and love,
it's become common to ask for a quick selfie. But with the royal family, this is a big no-no.
"But who's going to take the photograph? … No no,
I'll take the photograph. You see, it's a type of a self-photograph."
In 2017, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their first public appearance heading to
a charity fair for World AIDS Day, the formerly royal couple broke the news to fans. According
to Insider, when a couple asked Harry and Megan for a quick selfie, Markle responded,
"We're not allowed to do selfies."
Selfies are highly discouraged for multiple reasons — they take
a decent amount of time to get through with numerous fans and can be a security risk.
By the way, royals are also not allowed to sign autographs. This is mainly for their
protection so fans don't forge their signature in the future.
One of the majorly strict rules the royal family is expected to follow is that they're
not allowed to be vocal about any political views. According to Popsugar, this includes
not being allowed to vote and not being able to talk about politics with family, friends, or fans.
In addition, the royal family is expected to remain politically
neutral and not become entangled in politics — especially online.
"If he wants to keep this push towards some green issues, that's fine but there
are consequences of that, you are stepping in political territory."
The family's official website states:
"As Head of State, The Monarch has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political
matters. By convention, The Monarch does not vote or stand for election, however they do
have important ceremonial and formal roles in relation to the government of the UK."
So don't expect to see any royal Instagram accounts telling you
who to vote for in an upcoming election.
One of the most fun aspects of using social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok is
creating content in fun locations. But for the royal family, there are rules for that, too.
Although Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are free to
post whatever they want on their public social media platforms,
they still get scolded from time to time about what they post on their channels.
In an interview with UK Vogue in October 2018, Princess Eugenie opened up about how
she got in trouble once for what she posted to her brand new Instagram account. She said,
"I recently got in trouble for posting a picture
of Papa in a corridor of the palace that was off-limits to the public."
When Lady Amelia Windsor, the cousin of Prince Harry and Prince William,
shared a sponsored post on her Instagram page,
she left fans of the royal family very confused about whether they can post this type of content.
In her post, Windsor took to her platform to share a picture of her in a dress with
the caption, "Paid partnership with Michael Kors."
But if you're a royal family member, it's typically forbidden to receive
and accept gifts. A statement from Kensington Palace reads,
"When gifts are accepted, the consent of the Member of the Royal Family should be
contingent upon the enterprise undertaking not to exploit the gift for commercial purposes."
For Lady Amelia, this rule can be bent. She currently stands 42nd in line for the throne,
so rules like accepting gifts are more likely to be broken without
significant consequence for her and other royal members lower down the line.
To set fire against online trolls on their social media platforms, the royal family created a set
of strong social media guidelines in 2019 that their followers are expected to follow.
The goal of these new rules, the family has said in a statement,
is to create a safe environment for fans to properly engage with one another. For example,
comments should not contain spam, be offensive, promote hate or violence, be, quote, "off-topic,
irrelevant or unintelligible," and promote different services.
So what happens when users break the rules? The royal family says they have the right to
"hide or delete comments" and block users who do not follow the new rules. They further stated,
"We also reserve the right to send any comments we deem appropriate to
law enforcement authorities for investigation as we feel necessary or is required by law."
This set of rules occurred just months after the Duchess of Sussex and Duchess
of Cambridge were attacked by internet trolls. According to Harper's Bazaar,
one royal correspondent stated that staff members of Kensington Palace were, quote, "spending
hours each week moderating sexist and racist comments" that pertained to Meghan and Kate.