She avoids foreign words, speaks clearly and uses key words to create audience intimacy: Princess Catherine's explanation is a rhetorical masterpiece.

DPrincess Catherine's video appearance has won her high praise and even admiration – even from the British press, which often does not take kindly to the royal family and has hounded her with nasty speculation in recent months.

There are several reasons for the extremely positive reaction to a public statement besides the serious content of the statement. One could even speak of a “performance”, an appearance that – as the term suggests – was brilliantly staged. This is in no way meant to devalue or ignore the human touch nature of the message, but rather highlights it.