Kate Middleton took center stage for years as Prince William’s wife and mother to their growing flock of children.
Meghan Markle took the fast track to become a member of the Royal Family, quickly going from that famous first date with Prince Harry to wedding bells.
Kate seemed to fade into the background.
In the wake of Meghan and Prince Harry abruptly exiting the Royal Family and the U.K. first for Canada and now Los Angeles, Middleton returned to the spotlight.
There’s now a somewhat subtle signal that Kate and Prince William are determined to raise their social media levels.
Kate Middleton, Prince William snag Meghan Markle, Prince Harry ‘secret weapon’
David Watkins is described as a social media “whiz kid” and the “secret weapon” in Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s marketing campaigns.
The Daily Mail reports that he has hopped from Meghan and Harry’s Sussex Royal Instagram to Team Kate Middleton and Prince William.
William, 37, and Kate, 38, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, became headhunters in seeking out Watkins.
The 27-year-old had led digital communications for Markle and Harry, focusing on the Sussex Royal Instagram to achieve more than 11 million followers.
Meghan and Harry laid off 15 members of their staff in their decision to head to North America.
Watkins was among them.
But now, as his LinkedIn page reveals, this social media guru has a new role in the Royal Family.
LinkedIn shows how Kate Middleton plans to use social media ‘whiz kid’
Watkins’ LinkedIn shows that he snapped up Middleton and William’s offer to head up their growing royal brand and began his new position last week.
The position is described as “Digital & Social Media for TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge London, Greater London, United Kingdom.”
The new member of the Royal Household graduated from University College in Dublin.
Kate’s new social media expert also shares on his LinkedIn page that he has “two philosophies for any project; build relationships and deliver excellent customer experiences.”
As the official digital communications lead to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Watkins worked for Meghan and Harry from July 2019 to April 2020 before he was made redundant.
It’s anticipated that the new social media lead for Middleton and William will replicate the work he previously did for Markle in raising awareness of their brand.
Watkins describes his work for Meghan as including “day-to-day management of Brand Strategy, Digital, Comms, Content Creation, Copywriting, Collaborations & Risk Management for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
As for his philosophy in life, Watkins also shared that he asks himself “the daily question from Martin Luther King Jr. ‘What are you doing for others?'”