Charles and Camilla: Visit to Northern Ireland & Ireland - May 9-12, 2017

[loonytick]

This visit was not just a "mini-tour", but rather part of the so-called "Brexit charm offense", which includes visits of senior British royals to several EU countries. However, as mentioned by other posters, Charles and Camilla are not as mediatic as William and Kate.

This is part of the Brexit charm offense, as any visit to a Brexit nation will be for quite a while, but this is also a trip Charles and Camilla now take very year at this time. This is the third year in a row for them to have an Irish tour in May and they've made it clear they intend for that to be a regular part of their calendar. The media are interested in what's new, and this trip simply isn't.

But these two do make a point of visiting different counties on each trip, and their appearance surely feels new to each community they visit for the first time. I imagine they capture local attention in a stronger and more widespread way than national press coverage captures or reflects. In a nation as geographically and historically close/intertwined with the UK, that grassroots level diplomacy is every bit as important as larger scale efforts that shoot for media-saturation.

I suspect The Firm has a pretty firm understanding of what sort of attention various members of the family get in various places, and they strategically map out assignments with that in mind.

 

[Princess Larisa]

Court Circular 12th May:
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall today undertook engagements in Dublin, Ireland.

Their Royal Highnesses this morning visited Glasnevin Cemetery and participated in Acts of Remembrance at the Cross of Sacrifice and the Necrology Wall, Glasnevin.

The Prince of Wales afterwards visited the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin.

His Royal Highness later called upon the Taoiseach, Upper Merrion Street.

The Prince of Wales this afternoon visited Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall afterwards attended a Reception given by Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland (His Excellency Mr. Robin Barnett) at Glencairn.

The Duchess of Cornwall this morning visited the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Lower Leeson Street.

Her Royal Highness this afternoon visited Airfield Estate, Dundrum.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall later arrived at Royal Air Force Brize Norton from Ireland.

Mr. Scott Furssedonn-Wood, Mrs. Sophia Densham and Mrs. Laura Sullivan were in attendance.

 

[Dee Anna]

Ask the people who were at all the events Charles and Camilla attended and who (from the footage we've seen) enjoyed it very much.

"Coverage" means nothing! So you didn't see it on telly ..... does not mean it was not a great success where it took place! Media isn't everything ..... unless you are a media celeb of course!!

 

[Iluvbertie]

Media is everything these days. Without coverage these visits are PR failures and the entire point is good PR - that means not just the local people but also the British people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries - and Charles and Camilla's visit to Ireland didn't get that coverage.

As a world event it was total failure.

Britain is fighting for its future outside Europe and the BRF are supposed to be part of the 'soft diplomacy' to sell that and that can only happen with a good deal of media coverage otherwise they have failed to achieve anything of any note.

If these sorts of tours aren't garnering international coverage then they are failures given their purported purpose - to sell Britain to the wider world and to the rest of Europe post-Brexit.

William and Kate's tours will garner that worldwide coverage but Charles and Camilla don't and for the next king and his wife that is a poor outlook.

Why are they sending William and Kate to Germany and Poland - simple - they will get the worldwide coverage Britain needs. They can send Charles and Camilla anywhere and they get virtually no coverage except very locally but they send William and especially Kate and they get the massive coverage that is wanted and needed.