Is Some Transparency Too Much to Ask?

A royal screw-up

Queen Victoria (by Bertha Müller, after Heinrich von Angeli) at the National Portrait Gallery in London (Flickr - CC BY 2.0 DEED)

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” — Thomas Jefferson

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom has long held the fascination of the public.

In modern times in particular, with the addition of Princess Diana, a good deal of the public has been fixated on the comings and goings of the royals. Just look at the viewing numbers of The Crown on Netflix.

In some ways, the public spectacle — the thrusting and parrying with the media — has been part of the deal that this publicly-supported family has undertaken. They understand that they owe something to their subjects in return for living off of them.

But the recent photo debacle with the Princess of Wales has led to an unraveling of this delicate relationship. The lack of transparency has resulted in wild speculation about her condition.

In January, she went in for what the Royal Family called “abdo…