The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have appointed a former triathlete as their new PR chief.
The royal couple have turned to Lee Thompson – a Leeds University graduate and a former Team GB triathlete – to help improve their image following their recent tour of the Caribbean, when the role of the monarchy in the region was widely questioned.
Lee, 34, has been described to The Sunday Times newspaper as “a brilliant, super-switched-on guy who really gets the international stuff”.
He is the current vice-president of global communications and strategic partnerships at NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies.
Lee is said to have helped to boost CNBC’s YouTube following by as much as 600 percent. But he will soon start work as the new communications secretary for the royal couple.
The duke and duchess visited the Caribbean in March, and during the tour, Prince William said it’s up to the people of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas to decide their future relationship with the UK.
The 39-year-old prince explained that he was “committed to service” and that he didn’t have any intention of telling people in the region what to do.
William – who has Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four, with his wife – said at the time: “I know that this tour has brought into even sharper focus questions about the past and the future.
“In Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, that future is for the people to decide upon.”
The duke also spoke of his “profound sorrow” over slavery during a speech in Jamaica.
He added: “While the pain runs deep, Jamaica continues to forge its future with determination, courage and fortitude.”