Grayling Blog

PR Week asked me to comment on how successful UK's Prince Harry's first official overseas engagement has been in PR terms.

Picture Source: BBC.co.uk/news

There's no doubt that Prince Harry’s trip to New York has been well received by the UK media and gone some way to repairing his recently damaged reputation. This is down to a smart schedule which took him on visits where he had a natural and very genuine empathy with those he came into contact with – at Ground Zero with those who had lost members of their family, at a school in Harlem where was shown having fun with kids and meeting war veterans in Manhattan.

What made it work so well for the media was great images of him engaging with interesting people, rather than falling out of nightclubs with a blonde on his arm, which achieved the ongoing goal to make the Royal Family look relevant in a positive way; something that they struggle with. About time too!