The Prince and Princess of Wales have gone viral for their photography — again.
An adorable picture of their two youngest, Charlotte and Louis, shared to the Wales’s social media accounts and showing the children watching England play in the Euro’s football final has caused a royally embarrassing stir.
This time, it’s not about Photoshop — rather, it’s Kate and William’s less than King-sized television that’s to blame.
Wearing personalised England football shirts, the cute image of the little prince and princess watching the TV at home has inadvertently sparked something of a transatlantic culture war and sent square-eyed Americans mad.
‘Surely, Kate can afford a bigger screen than that!’ came one incredulous Stateside Tweet.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have gone viral for their photography – again.
An adorable picture of their two youngest, Charlotte and Louis, shared to the Wales’s social media accounts and showing the children watching England play in the Euro’s football final has caused a royally embarrassing stir.
‘That can barely be 40 inches,’ sniffed another, appalled that the third and fourth in line to the throne have to sit so close to the screen to see England lose again.
In the land of the supersized, I can see why the US public may well be shocked.
Intent on recreating the IMAX experience for their daily fix of ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘The View’, more is always more in the States —but over here, big is definitely not better, at least not for the more refined, discerning viewer.
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Of course, the British royals can do flashy, big and bling when the occasion demands – from wearing diamond-dripping crowns to riding in multi-million-dollar gold carriages — but to extend such ostentation to their viewing habits would be unthinkable.
Quite simply, as with many of the quirky nuances in British culture and etiquette, it’s a class thing.
You see, nothing typifies a naff, nouveau-riche faux pas more than a giant home telly – especially when there’s several of them affixed to the walls in every room of the house, ready for mindless channel surfing whether you’re in bed, on the sofa or even in the kitchen.
I’m afraid to say, the US influence is filtering at-pace across to our shores.
Along with at-home drinks bars and hideous hot tubs in the garden, XXXL TV sets have increasingly become the vulgar staple of those with something to prove.
Intent on ‘a bigger than yours’ one-upmanship, in their minds a giant TV is a stamp of success and the kind of essential mod con to boast about with their equally gormless peers.
But what it actually reveals are dumbed-down priorities and a lack of books and conversation.
Contrast it with the ‘old money’ English, where often the bigger the home, the smaller the TV gets, particularly in those draughty stately piles.
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The Prince and Princess of Wales issued an extraordinary mea culpa in March after admitting she ‘edited’ an image (above) showing her celebrating Mother’s Day with her children.
You’ll be sure to find a sprawling library and even a few Turners and Constables on the wall, but the TV will be so basic, its ariel may need to be manually adjusted to get a clear picture — and you can forget streaming and multiple channels entirely.
This will, of course, be the only set available in the property: sat unobtrusively in a corner, nowhere near the dining room and as far as can be from the bedrooms.
Well-to-do homeowners don’t aspire to watch an almost life-size news anchor in their living rooms — rather they opt for functionality, and encourage their children to explore life beyond the screen.
Perhaps it’s time for more of us who are tempted by the big and bold to follow Kate and William’s lead, and channel a more pared down viewing experience — it’s certainly much classier.