What was the biggest superhit melodrama in media? The Crown, No. Meray Pass Tum ho part 2, No. Bridgertons, No. It was the Oprah Winfrey Interview of the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. It was explosive. Not since Lady Diana’s famous Martin Bashir interview in 1995 about the other woman in their life has so much been said and written on the royal scandals. The globe just went berserk, the electronic media burst, the social media blitzed. The troubles of the royal family seem to be the best selling script that people want to hear and read about. That is why “the paparazzi” as they are called give their lives for sneaking in a picture or a story about them.
With so much hunger for royal news royal celebrity picking has become big business. Lady Diana with her fame and beauty in life and her sorrow and tragedy in death brought this fascination to a compulsive obsessive level. She immortalzed the royal life by adding every aspect people relate to. Till date movies, serials, events are held to repeat her life on screen, in magazines and in albums. With unending viewership comes unending money. With unending money comes unending investment in more Royal gossip. And this continues. Let us look at the main factors behind this royal awe:
1 Fairy tales sell- With all the talk of democracies and the activism on anti-monarchy sentiments of the twenty first century, royalty is royalty. People’s fascination about the fantasy fairy land of the rich, the famous and then the royals is endless. Palaces, princess and the throne constitute a story that all want to somehow follow if cannot be part of it. Nothing fascinates people more than seeing the chinks in the royal armour. Lady Diana revived the fairy story by her controversial relationship with the royal family. Her ‘damsel in search of love” till date attracts movies and documentaries like nothing else. Some people empathize with her, some grill her, and others just want to keep up with her. Whatever the reason, it is hot selling stuff. Many people feel that though she died due to the paparazzi obsession with her, she herself had become so addicted to it that she had forgotten how to separate her real life from the one created in the media. For the royals and the public Meghan Markle and Harry’s decision to leave the palace came as a bombshell. This was a tale that people were ready to hear and buy endlessly. Why had she done it. Is it the end of the monarchy? Tongues wagged, experts opined and then Oprah “crowned” this story with the interview that became the talk of the town.
2 Story tellers create drama- Royal family is covered massively. From the royal historians to novelists to script writers, all make money on the life and living of royals. What they wear, what they say, what they do is fodder for their careers. The zenith of their careers is scoops. Thus the slightest of the event becomes a story to be told and a story to be sold. That is why the amount of coverage received by the Oprah Winfrey interview broke all records. Imagine the viewership of day one of the interview in CBS. The estimate of 49.1 million viewers in 17 countries is just the beginning. CBS licensed the interview to air in more than 80 territories, the network said. CBS actually beat all other channels. Powered by Winfrey and royals, CBS won the week with an average of 6 million viewers in prime time. ABC had 3.5 million, NBC had 3.2 million, Fox had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.3 million, Ion Television had 1.1 million and Telemundo had 1 million. Corona, wars, US talks with China, nothing in the world is anywhere near the royal addiction.
3 The controversy spice- What happens with such socio global scandals is that it sets a debate on who was on whose side. There are millions who are shocked at the racial revelations and there are millions who say this is everyday stuff that has been given a twist to get audience. Whichever side you are on is still increasing interest and readership. Thus the scandal develops a life of its own. The state of what next will continue. The speculation of how the Queen will respond will provoke more writings. The predictions on what impact it will have on those implicated in this tale will create many articles and interviews. All socialite magazines and commentators are commenting on the marvel or ridicule of the event. Memes abound, humour soars, editorials are forced to be relevant.
As the business of the lives of the royals goes on there are some lessons that the world needs to learn. Firstly, all that glitters is not gold. The lives of the rich and famous are great stories to follow but they are very hollow. The constant pressure to be in news, the immense stress of being in public eye, the lack of ability to be oneself normally results in huge mental issues that affect the emotional well-being of most of them. Secondly, be clear about the consequences of your choices. One of the biggest skepticism on Meghan is that what else did she expect? Maybe she thought she could cope
with it. Kate Middleton has done well. She has worn her royalty with grace. But for people with an eye on the Crown freedom of choice is the first casualty. Lastly, balance in life is the most difficult but the most important thing.
Too much of anything is bad. Live prudently, privately and purposefully. When either of the three are missing or lacking it is sure to create unhappiness. Fairy tales are best for reading. They are a good pastime when they begin with “Once Upon a time” and end with “Happily Ever After”. Beyond that it is playing in the hands of the money churners. Somebody has tweeted: “7 million dollars for an interview about in-laws issues, we in this part of the world do it daily free of cost”. But then the difference between the commoners and the royalty is the difference between the mundane life of the masses and the fairy-tale lives of the royals.
(The writer can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021