Kerry Parnell: Royal family the world’s biggest reality stars

As members of the British monarchy hit our TV screens for new projects, they’re giving hardened reality stars a run for their money, writes Kerry Parnell.

It’s the battle of the reality royals, but which side are you watching?

The new monarchy has changed the channel as the royal family floods the airwaves.

This week it was reported Mike Tindall, husband of Zara, has signed to appear on the British version of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!

According to The Mirror newspaper, he could be earning around $1m for his stint in the Aussie “jungle”.

It’s not his first reality rodeo, as he previously appeared on The Jump and Bear Grylls: Mission Survive.

Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips at their 2011 wedding. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell

Mike’s not the only one; Catherine, Princess of Wales, read a bedtime story on CBeebies earlier this year, and she and Prince William appeared on BBC radio this week to discuss mental health.

Certainly, things have come a long way since the Windsor’s groundbreaking decision to let cameras follow them for the 1969 documentary Royal Family.

Scenes showed them barbecuing and eating breakfast and more Brits watched it than the subsequent moon landing.

The decision the royals had to make was whether they “calmly sat back and let television devour them on its terms, or whether they took a more active part in deciding how they might use TV,” Sir William Heseltine, the Australian former private secretary to the Queen, says in the new biography Courtiers, by Valentine Low.

Now, the royal family are arguably the biggest reality stars on the planet.

King Charles III, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Camilla, Queen Consort, the late queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Duchess of Cornwall in 2018. Picture: Chris Jackson

Even Charles is in on the TV act – he’s filmed an episode of the BBC’s Repair Shop asking experts to fix his antiques.

It does beg the question, though, what’s different about Mike’s jungle fun and Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deal?

When news broke of Tindall’s TV exploits, Sussex supporters immediately went on the offensive on social media at the hypocrisy.

Obviously, you have to assume Mike won’t be moaning about his rellies, Oprah-style. He’s always very positive about the royal family. But essentially, he has agreed to go on (another) reality show, for cash.

So why is that OK, but Harry and Meghan making a documentary is not? Both couples are non-working royals, both free to make a living however they want.

A new image of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry by Misan Harriman.

Mike has a popular podcast – The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, which nobody minds, even when he shares royal anecdotes.

Compare that to Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, which is ridiculed every time an episode is released. The Spectator labelled this week’s offering “barking mad”.

I’m here for the new generation of TV royals, whatever they say. Not since Prince Edward’s splendid attempt at light entertainment in 1987’s It’s a Royal Knockout have we been accorded such titular titillation.

In that charity challenge, royals competed on an assault course against celebrities like John Travolta and David Bowie while wearing medieval costumes.

It was received so poorly at the time, it ended Edward’s TV career. Thirty-five years later, can you imagine how much Netflix would pay?