The Royals with Roya and Kate - Inside Buckingham Palace's new PR strategy

Episode Date: April 1, 2026

Buckingham Palace has appointed a royal correspondent as the King’s new press secretary – what does this reveal about how King Charles wants to run his media operation? Roya Nikkhah and Kate Mansey are joined by former palace press secretary Ailsa Anderson to explore what Rhiannon Mills' hire says about Palace communications at a moment of intense scrutiny, faster news cycles and growing pressure.So, what should a modern media approach for the monarchy look like? And does the late Queen's “never complain, never explain” mantra still work?The US state visit has been confirmed. What issues do you think the King should discuss with President Trump? Get in touch: [e-mail]: GettyProducer: Robert WallaceExecutive Producer: Priyanka Deladia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to the Royals, the podcast where we discuss what happens behind the palace walls and why it matters. I'm Royneika. And I'm Kate Mansy. A royal journalist will soon be stepping into the corridors of Buckingham Palace and not to scoop a story, but to guide his majesty on how best not to become one. That's because the Sky News Royal correspondent, Riannon Mills, has been appointed as the King and Queen's new media secretary. On one level, it's a big palace hire, but on another, it raises much bigger questions about how King Charles and Queen Camilla want the monarchy to be portrayed in the press. Those optics are important, especially with controversy still swirling around the Andrew problem and growing public pressure for greater transparency. So is this simply a smart appointment or is it a sign that Buckingham Palace believes its old media model?

needs to change? And can the monarchy modernise the way it talks to the public without losing some of that mystique around it? Well, to help us unpack all of that, we've brought in someone who knows all about the inner workings of the Palace Press Machine. Elsa Anderson is a former Buckingham Palace Communications and Press Secretary. She worked with the Queen for more than a decade. Elsa, welcome back to the Royals. Thank you for having me again. It's great to see you. You really do know how it all works. We are in a very interesting week because the whole issue of media managing the monarchy and the principles is going to be forefront when we go on the now confirmed US state visit at the end of this month. There's going to be all sorts of media minefields

to manage there and PR potential pitfalls. Tell us, as a media secretary and a press secretary in a role that you held for many years, what does that role entail? What's the day to day like? What are some of the biggest challenges? What are some of the most surreal moments you went through? It's like no job on earth. And I know that sounds a bit cliche, but it's absolutely true. And I remember, so I did that job for 13 years. And I was walked through those gates, Buckingham Palace, going to my office and the gravel crunching on my soles of my feet. But nothing really prepared me to work in a place that no one can imagine.

And there's no real sort of textbook to actually say what it's like. And the amount of faux paths I must have made and mistakes and. getting people's titles wrong and every bit of protocol. I'm surprised I lasted 13 years, let alone, you know, as I did. So it is absolutely extraordinary. But the people were amazing. What I would say is there wasn't one member of the royal household who wasn't absolutely extraordinary. And very much like the monarch herself, they put sort of service and duty before self.

I mean, they were all brought in to the whole monarchy institution. But it's, yeah, it's the biggest drama ever going, I think. And you were very close to the late queen. I mean, how much of your day-to-day life involved meetings with her? Yeah, I mean, it very much depended on the time of the year. So the court calendar actually really showed you where you were going to be and what you're going to do. So of course, it always started in February when the late queen used to come back to Buckingham

Palace from her stay at Sandringham from Christmas. Then if you moved to Windsor at Easter, then of course back to Buckingham Palace and then Balmoral for the summer and autumn season. and then, of course, Sandringham at Christmas. So it very much depended on whether she was full-on sort of head of state, which mainly at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, or whether she had a bit of downtime at Sandringham or at Balmoral. And you would sometimes move around, the court would move around with Monarch.

Absolutely, absolutely. So I spent quite a lot of time at Sandringham and at Balmoral. And Balmoral's beautiful. I mean, it's in the middle of nowhere, and certainly the late Queen could be herself. And I remember we used to stay in Queen Victoria's old schoolhouse, where she used to homeschool her children. In Belmorrow.

In Belmorrow. So it was just near the castle, but not part of the castle. And I remember staying there for the first time and going up to my bedroom, which is this tiny little room with a single bed and sort of scratchy sheets. And I opened this cupboard door, and it was a door into the loft. And there were all these tables and school tables and chairs that are all been piled up. And these were where Queen Victoria's children had been schooled. Old school, literally.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it was absolutely. extraordinary. I hadn't been touched. We're going to talk a lot more about the US state visit. Now we know it's confirmed in the next few weeks. But given that it is a big sort of media mind filled and there are some big challenges coming up on that, there is the looming, swirling controversy around Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Winds association with him. He denies all wrong doing, but he is the king's brother. We are going to America to see the president.

We also had a really interesting development yesterday, whereby Congressman Roe-Canner, who had written to the king saying, I'd really like you to meet some of Epstein's victims in private. We were at the point where yesterday we were getting guidance from the palace to us saying, we've seen Congressman Rokane's letter, the king is aware of it. Unfortunately, their majesties will not be able to meet survivors in private in case it prejudices any police investigation here. All of that is going to be at play, notwithstanding the row with Kirstama over, you know, the special relationship being in tatters at the moment. And as someone who has been in that scenario and done state visits, how would you manage?

How would you manage that trip? Oh, my golly. Wine, I think, probably. Lots of wine. You had some tricky trips yourself, didn't you? So I did the last state visit to America with the late Queen. That was 2005. Didn't quite have the challenges this one.

It didn't. It didn't. So we started in Jamestown, ended up in Washington. It's all sort of, there's almost like a formulaic piece. So you would go to a state banquet. you would address, make a formal address. But there wasn't that scandal surrounding it. There wasn't the social media at that time.

And the Queen and Prince Philip were much loved. And President Bush was very close to the British government at the time. So we didn't have that sort of pressure. So if you're in the job now, what would you be thinking? Well, you obviously, as you've rightly said already, you know, the concerns are going to be protests, potentially by Epstein survivors. There, of course, is the Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex.

On the West Coast. In dialogue surrounding them. Our it may not take us to the West Coast, Alcibles. Yeah, I think I agree with you. So we've already seen the King and the Queen and other members of the Royal Family heckled while carrying out official engagements in the UK. So I haven't got a crystal ball, but I can almost predict there will be protests while they're there, which of course is going to take the shine of the work that they

want to do, all that soft power, all that, you know, trying to build back that special relationship between the US and the UK. What they don't want is a distraction. So that's all going to come into play for the Palace comms team. Now, an interesting new development is they've hired Rianne and Mills, Sky News correspondent, who for more than 10 years has been reporting on the royal family in front of the camera, she hasn't always been positive about them. She's, when there's been criticism to be had, she's been the first person there, you know, to report on that. She won't be in place before the King's visit to the US, likely to join just before the summer. How significant do you think this is? Because I don't remember a time that we've ever seen journalists from the Royal

Rotar covering the royal family moving into the Palace press office before. Now, there have been journalists who've moved into the press office. You're one of them. I'm one of them. But how significant do you think this is? She knows better than most how the palace spins a yarn and how it's told on the other side. Is this a good coup for King Charles? I think it is. So I know Riannon not from working with her, but subsequently afterwards. And she's clearly a professional well thought of royal correspondent, as you both are yourselves. I think bringing her in is a coup. because I don't think she's going to be a yes person. I think she will give honest and truthful advice when asked.

And she knows how journalists think. You know, she's been doing that job at Sky for a long time, as you said, Kate. So she won't exactly what route, you know, to go to. And I think she won't be scared to speak her mind. So I think it's a huge coup. And of course, Tobin, who is the communications. Tobin-on-Otre, the head of communications. He's staying.

An ex-journalist. So I think, actually, when I joined the palace, I was the first, I think, ex-journalist, or maybe the second that they had in the press office. And I actually think it's a really, really good move. Well, it's interesting. It's the kind of chess game, isn't it? Well, if we say that, how will it be reported in the press? And sometimes there's a kind of a gulf between that message and how it then lands, which presumably she'll be able to help with. But it's that classic kind of poacher-turned-gamekeeper role.

I think that your point about Rihanna not being a yes person. is really interesting because she has been critical of moves by the royal family, moves by the palace press machine, but she will know what the press need and want. And she will also know fully about, you know, managing a story and to see how it plays out. I don't know what you think else. I think her appointment is interesting at a time when the royal family are facing institutional challenges at a level that we haven't seen for a long time. I mean, you know, there have been all sorts of choppy waters over the last few years. But I mean, I do think it shows that the comms machine is starting to understand it might need a little bit more, I don't know,

nuance and how it manages things. It's not just going to be able to put out a message and the press will just go for it. Not that that's ever been the case. But I think, you know, we've got the Andrew problem. Yeah. We have all the issues around, you know, the police investigation that's ongoing. The Harry and Megan stuff still rumbles on. It's still a thing that kind of knocks against the official institution. Things are not as settled as they were, like perhaps during your time. No, I think that's right. But then anyone in a comms role, who is advising, whether it's a business leader, whether it's a politician,

whether it's a member of the royal family, you can lead a horse to water. They might not necessarily drink it. So you can give the best advice based on your judgment and your expertise to your principle. They don't have to take it. How often did you find that when you're in that role?

Oh, Roy, now you're putting me on the spot. You don't need to name names, but when you're giving good advice and someone, you know, you and I've talked about this a lot in private, doesn't necessarily take that advice. Couldn't possibly comment on who we're talking about. But how do you then manage the fallout?

Because they always want to blame someone when it doesn't go their way. Absolutely. And it's normally, it's either the police or the comms people always get the blame. So when something goes right, it's one individual. When something goes wrong, it's always either the police or the press office in my experience. I've been in the commas world for a long time. What I've never done is life with journalists. And I think you've got to keep your own integrity and your own moral compass when you do that role.

because if you're caught up, if you do that, then your reputation is completely shot to pieces. Did you find it? I mean, you've worked in the world of business as well as with the real family. Did you find it easy to give stark, strong advice that might not necessarily land well to members the real family? It's hard.

Did you find yourself slightly, was it a bit more harder to give? It is very easy to be a yes person. And when your principal is saying something to agree with them to be obsequious, to suck up, it's much harder, as you both know, to just say, actually, I don't agree.

And especially as a woman in a fairly male-dominated institution. So the Royal House and I joined, there weren't many senior women there. And I went on and joined the Archbishop of Canterbury's office. There weren't many senior women there. And it's very hard to hold your own. But then you've got to be true to yourself. And you wouldn't be doing the job properly if you didn't give proper, honest, practical, right advice. Well, they need that right advice now more than ever, don't they?

Because obviously the Andrew problem isn't going away. Now there were sort of inklings of that when you were in post and you must have had to have difficult conversations with senior members of the royal family about how that was going to be managed. But also you can only act on the information you're given. So 2010, when we first had this infamous photographs of Andrew Mountbatten, Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in Central Park, Andrew denied any wrongdoing, as he still does to date. So you can only really act on the information you're given. And of course, subsequently, as we know now, a lot did go on. Those three million emails that the FBI have got have clearly proved much more went on. than we knew about.

And of course, we should say that just being in the Epstein Files is no indication of wrongdoing. But like you say, if someone's telling you this is the situation as he was publicly, it sounds like that's what he was saying to staff privately behind the scenes as well, which is really interesting. Well, Brianna Mills is interesting because I think she, like you say, she's not a yes woman. And I actually can see her standing up even to the king and saying,

well, I think with all respect, you know, your majesty, if we say this, they'll say that. And that's having the kind of professionalism and the experience to be able to stand in your position and say, you know, this is why you pay me. This is why, you know, you come to me for advice. Whether you take it or not is something else. But actually, she also represents the kind of that dwindling of the age of deference as well because there was that moment when she was on tour with Prince Harry. And she just shouted a question to him. It was pretty innocuous about how, you know, why he was there visiting Malawi.

And he just turned around and said, don't behave like that, Rian. and was quite sharp with her on camera. So interestingly, she hasn't always played by the kind of the rules. But there could be more. We've seen shoutouts from members of the public about Epstein. Absolutely. And when you go to America, how the American press will behave will be quite interesting. I don't know, how you manage that from a palace point of view.

I think the king and queen just have to be really focused on what they want to achieve while they're there. I mean, it's a real tightrope they've got. But of course, when the king went to Canada, when again, the relations between Canada and the United States were pretty shaky. And yet the King navigated that trip, that very brief trip, extraordinary. He really was a diplomat in chief for UK. And I think, you know, he is experienced enough to know what he can do and what he can't do. And, you know, the media and the public will be watching everything he does and the Queen

from who they speak to, to what they wear, to what they say, to their mannerisms, to what they eat, to what they drink. I mean, everything will be micro-scrutinized by you, Lod. It's fascinating because we know he's going to make an address to Congress. You know, Congress who have released the Epstein files, you cannot avoid the fact that the sort of looming shadow of the King's brother will be looming over this state visit. You know, a lot of Congress men and women who will watch that address will be thinking about the Epstein files, as well, many of us

and, you know, a lot of the survivors out there. So all of that, you know, it'll be fascinating to see how the media machine helps navigate that. Coming up, do you think the Queen's mantra of Never Complain, Never Explain is actually dead? I mean, I suppose one of the things I'd be interested to get your perspective on is how you have seen the Palace communications sort of shift in the last few years. Because, you know, there was a time where the old mantra of Never Complain, Never Explain, sort of stuck as much as you could make it stick unless you're in major crises.

But ever since I think like 2020, Harry and Megan saying we're off, we're going to go and do a different thing. We're going to give interviews to Oprah Winfrey. We're going to go and, you know, make our own documentaries. That has sort of been shattered. Yeah. Do you think, although they are outside the fold now, officially, they're not part of the working or family, how much has the Palace comms machine had to adapt to dealing with that? Yeah, hugely. I'm just thinking, obviously, the late queen famously never gave an interview.

but she communicated in a different way. So there were documentaries made about her. I must have worked with, golly, 10 documentary, maybe more during my time there. So you communicate in a different way. But of course, the king as Prince of Wales gave many interviews. William and Catherine have as well. But even they are operating in a different way to Buckingham Palace. Do you think that's a good thing that they have?

Well, give an interview. Yeah. We know much more about what Charles thinks and William and. Catherine think than we did about the Queen because we've heard more directly from them. I do. I do. But of course, once that genie is out of the bottle, you can't really put it back in again. So you're setting a precedent. But they're setting a precedent on their own terms. So William is giving interviews but to Canadian actors rather than sitting down with, you know, you two giving an interview. So he's using different vehicles. They're using a lot of their own in-house filming, photography and then releasing it on their social media channels.

That's interesting, isn't it? It's a kind of a changing time. Do you think they've been kind of proactive in doing that? Or is it kind of a reaction to, oh, I suppose we better do that because that's how everybody's accessing. Or they've got control. It's what their message is, what photograph they want to put out, what message they want to send. So it's very much taking ownership of your life, really. So was there a single moment, do you think, when that old model of doing things, never complain, never explain, came under strain?

Was it a point where, for example, Harry and Megan gave that Oprah interview and they had to respond? I think that was quite a classic, but I think the way they responded was absolutely extraordinary in a good way. You know, they took their time. It wasn't a need-earck reaction. They gathered their thoughts. And I think people will always remember, you know, recollections may vary. How many times is that sort of quoted back to them now? So I think it was quite masterful in the way they handled that under enormous pressure. But this isn't new, the monarchy sort of taking on the media. And I remember when I was there, there was a front page story about Prince Philip

allegedly having prostate cancer, which was absolutely untrue. And normally we wouldn't comment on something like that. But we took legal action and they had a front page retraction the next day. Just on that point, because you did correct that. story and took legal action. I'm always interested in what the palace chooses to address, not address, comment on, not comment on, correct, not correct. There's always been the sort of stance and various press secretaries that if you start to correct every single thing and comment on every single thing, that way disaster lies, because the minute you don't, people assume that it's

right or wrong. How do you, as someone in charge of media sort of communications at the palace, how do you take that decision on what you do and don't go for? It depends on what it is. if there's one minor error in a story which is basically true, then I wouldn't rebut it because then you've got to rebut everything. Also, where is the story? If we suddenly put something out, you're drawing attention to this story. And actually, you're creating a story of your own making. So there are times when, you know, not to react, not to respond is much better, how hard it is, but it's much better not to do it because you'll be creating a story. Talk about responding to things. We've seen, obviously, with the Epstein scandal, there's been a lot of discussion and questions over the late Queen's role and whether she helped him or what did she know about it. I mean, she's not around to rebuff any of those questions or answer them even. So, I mean, how do you think that impacts on her legacy from a PR perspective?

Well, I hope, as I said earlier, Kate, what we knew in 2010 is very much different to what we know today. And you can only act on the information. you're given. And if that individual, and bearing in mind the police weren't involved, no one was involved, the only people that are really championing the story were the survivors, or survivors was, and the media. So you could only act on the information you're given. History is a wonderful thing. I hope the public will recognize actually what an extraordinary monarch she was, 70 years on the throne, about duty, about service, not about self and that is her legacy and it's not the actions of one member of her family

that defines 70 years on the throne. Do you think the Queen's mantra of never complain, never explain, is actually dead? I think we're living in a different age now but I do, I think it depends on the story, I think it depends on the comment, the incident and who is writing it, who is reporting it, who is saying it. So there's a lot of unknowns really, but I think we have moved on to a different age.

And what she did then was right for that time, that generation, what we do now obviously speaks to a different audience. In a way, there's something about, you know, the changing nature and how the palace are shifting and how the principles are shifting in terms of getting their message across that might just counter that. When the palace confirmed Rianan's appointment, they said that the king and queen were exploring new and creative ways to demonstrate the work. of the royal family to the widest possible audience in the widest number of ways. And we've seen in the last year or so, we had the Amazon documentary from The King, going out on a streamer all about, you know,

harmony and the environment. He did a podcast for Apple Music a couple of years ago. There's another Netflix documentary coming lately at the end of the year. We talked earlier about, you know, William doing that interview with Eugene Levy, revealing lots of stuff he wants to do. So they are moving away from the traditional

sort of set piece numbers and finding other ways, you know, streamers, digital ways to communicate? Well, I think you can do both, can't you? It's not an exclusion of one for the other. So I think absolutely, I think it's great that they're moving and exploring different ways of communicating. But you can also use the traditional media as well. Do you get just seeing that mix? Because they're giving, aren't they, a little bit more of an insight to social media users who expect that sort of, to use that awful terms of authenticity of the moment, they're kind of capturing the zeitgeist a little bit and feeling their way through. But the Queen wasn't afraid to push the envelope. And of course, you will both remember that the annual

Christmas broadcast, it was always the BBC, then ITV were brought in. And then Sky News made a bid. And everyone thought, oh, that's not going to happen. Sky won't be part of the rotor. And the Queen said yes. And then she did it in 3D one year. Again, that's totally different. Do you remember that? And she, I remember, we were exploring redeveloping. developing the Royal website. And we had an idea to do a 3D tour of the state rooms just to encourage people to actually purchase tickets during the summer opening.

And the head of the Royal Collection at the time said, I don't think this is a very good idea. You know, it'll take the shine off of it. No, I'm not. No, no, no, no, no. And I put a note up to the Queen explaining we think it's a really good idea. And actually it's sort of giving a hint of what can be expected.

And she came back and said, yeah, let's go for it. So you're saying the old press officer adage of like, this is an old story. This has been done before. And we all think every new generation is adding their mark to it, I suppose. But even then, well, look at the 1953 coronation, I suppose, the first coronation she'd broadcast in Technicolor around the world. She was the forefront of that change.

I suppose there's only a danger, isn't there? Do you think that they, going into kind of social media videos, are we losing a bit of the mystique of the royal family? Because we never really knew what the Queen thought about anything, which was part of the, you know, I think she was an icon because of that in many ways. But she still, no one thinks the Queen is going to go on Twitter as was, but we put something out. So it's just the hint that she's doing that she recognises something rather than actually doing it.

And I think what people like about the Royal Family is they do move for the times. It speaks to the, does it speak, do you think, to the new audiences they're trying to reach? They move to different media and the different way of doing it. But without ignoring the traditional audience. So you've still got the die hard. Royalists, thank goodness. But yes, you've got a new audience and they've got to appreciate that and communicate and engage with them. Otherwise, you know, what's the want to do about?

What's the point of it? On that note, we'd be delighted to have the king or the queen or any other member of the royal family come on this podcast. New media. New media. So formal invitation, consider it issued, your majesties. Fantastic. Well, thanks very much, Elsa, for joining us. back another time. Thank you. I'd love to. That's it for this week's episode. If you enjoyed it,

make sure you subscribe wherever you're joining us so you don't miss any episodes. And it's official. We're now just weeks away from the King's US visit and we'd love to hear your thoughts or any questions you might have. What discussions do you think the King should have with Donald Trump? Or perhaps you think the King should meet Harry during his fleeting America visit. Email us at the Royals at the Times.com.com. We might feature them in a future episode. But until then, thanks so much for joining us here on the Royals, and we'll see you next week.