Countless TikTok videos, participating in popular television programs and its own lifestyle guide. Thanks to today’s birthday Eloise van Oranje (21), a breath of fresh air is blowing through the royal family. How come the ‘Countess influencer’ has so much freedom and does this affect the rest of the royals?
“Ik had nooit gedacht dat ik zo’n groot account zou hebben. In twee uur tijd ging ik van 30.000 naar 100.000 volgers”, vertelt Eloise in LINDA. “Natuurlijk kwam dat door mijn achternaam. Daarom praat ik daar zo min mogelijk over. Eloise staat centraal, niet Eloise van Oranje.”
De 100.000 Instagram-volgers, waar Eloise in 2021 in het tijdschrift over sprak, zijn er inmiddels bijna 400.000. Het is niet voor niets dat ze ook wel gekscherend ‘gravinfluencer’ wordt genoemd. Op TikTok worden haar video’s honderdduizenden keren bekeken.
En ook in andere media komt het nichtje van koning Willem-Alexander voorbij: als deelnemer van Het Perfecte Plaatje, op de rode loper van een gala of als ambassadeur van L’Oréal. Van alle Van Oranjes zien we Eloise, die aan de hotelschool studeert, veruit het meest. Al geeft ze weinig interviews: een verzoek van NU.nl om met de gravin te praten, wordt afgewezen.
Eloise hoeft, in tegenstelling tot bijvoorbeeld haar bijna even oude nicht Amalia, haar gedrag niet te verantwoorden. De dochter van prinses Laurentien en prins Constantijn is namelijk geen lid van het Koninklijk Huis en valt daarmee niet onder de ministeriële verantwoordelijkheid.
“Ze heeft daarmee alle vrijheid en kan doen en laten wat ze wil. En dus ook haar eigen geld verdienen”, vertelt royaltywatcher Jeroen Snel in gesprek met NU.nl. “We kennen Eloise inmiddels beter dan de kinderen van Willem-Alexander en Máxima, omdat ze zoveel op sociale media deelt.”
Eloise has more freedom than her ‘predecessors’
Eloise’s position can be compared to that of, for example, Prince Maurits and Bernhard junior. They are the cousins of Beatrix, who was queen until 2013. Until that time, these princes belonged to the Royal House. They were secured and were reluctant to give interviews.
Because of the costs, it was then decided to downsize the Royal House. As a result, Eloise can now post as many Instagram posts and TikTok videos as she wants. “It’s nice that my management and parents can help me,” says the Countess influencer LINDA. “When a picture of me smoking a cigarette went around, it made me laugh rather than worry what people would think. At the end of the day I’m just a girl, a student. Will I get drunk in a pub? Naturally.”
But even those who don’t actively follow Eloise can hardly ignore her. Last week, the countess was still in the news after images were shared of a new program with a hidden camera.
Social experiments are done in it, in which Eloise (unsuspectingly) participated. It can be seen that the countess intervenes when she overhears a conversation in which racist statements are made. She is pretty fierce in that, something we don’t see Amalia doing quickly as heir to the throne. “Eloise finds something and is not afraid to speak it out. You have to have guts to say something about it. That is to her credit,” says Snel.
0:45“Twenty years ago, a royal would never have been on TV in a bathing suit”
The viewers discovered that Eloise is not afraid to show herself The Picture Perfect last too. The countess posed in swimsuits. Not very startling in itself, until Quickly RTL Boulevard said that “this is pushing the boundaries”. It caused a stir on social media, because why can’t Eloise appear on TV in swimwear?
Quickly nuanced his statements, he also emphasizes to NU.nl. “I didn’t say that to lecture Eloise. I meant it purely from a historical perspective of the royal family. Twenty years ago it would have been out of the question for a royal to have participated in a television program at all, let alone on screen in swimsuits popped up.”
The royal family is changing enormously, says Snel, who has been a royalty watcher herself for twenty years. “Certainly in the sense of how members profile themselves. And luckily so. Now someone like Eloise can just live her life the way she wants. Unlike Amalia.”
‘All eyes are on her’
Snel does not dare to say whether the ‘free’ Eloise has a positive or negative influence on the image of the royal family. But if she commits a misstep, he believes it could reflect on the rest of the royal family.
“As with other celebrities, all eyes are on her. Maybe even more so with Eloise, because she is a royal. And if you make a mistake, it will be widely covered in the news.”
Blunders are part of it, especially when you’re young. Quick: “Eloise just has to discover who she is, go her own way. She will probably run into a limit at some point. But she will find out for herself.”
Danja Koeleman is koningshuisspecialist voor NU.nl
Danja volgt voor NU.nl het Nederlandse en buitenlandse royaltynieuws.
2023-06-08 03:03:00
#Countess #Eloise #rejuvenates #royal #family #Amalia #Royal #family
