King Charles and Prince William silence rumours with telling move

Royal PR is as much about optics as it is about ensuring the message you want to make is given sufficient coverage. Whether that's the King's commitment to the environment, the Princess of Wales's determination for people to spend more time outside, or the Duchess of Edinburgh's mission to raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence in war.

But that's the obvious takeaway from a royal engagement, announcement or video - it's the subliminal that's often the most interesting. Take the Princess of Wales's decision to wear a Victoria Beckham suit on the day her strikingly open and honest Netflix documentary was released.

It's a subtle sign of showing support to a woman who bravely discussed her eating disorder and the negative press coverage of her weight. That's why it was important that the King and his heir stepped out for a rare joint engagement together at the National History Museum last week, amid an increasing number of reports of a rift between the pair after Charles met with Prince Harry last month.

Sources have rubbished the claims, stating the pair are "aligned and their relationship is stronger than ever" - but a photo op certainly proves that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Naturally, these types of events are planned long in advance, and even the best PR in the world couldn't have foreseen the swirling rumours of a fallout between father and son.

But the way the engagement was choreographed helped to reinforce the Palace's message that the King and his heir are united, both as a family and the direction the monarchy is taking. They arrived together in the State Bentley, having met at Buckingham Palace beforehand and they seemed to be delighted to be sharing the stage to focus on their mutual passion, the environment.

William is following in the footsteps of his father, who is widely regarded as one of the leading global voices on environmental issues, by attending COP30 next month.

It had originally been planned for them to attend a summit together, but the Prince will instead attend alone, as the King is unable to fit the trip into his busy schedule.

Not only is COP being held in Belem, Brazil (some 4,600 miles away) it also falls just days before Remembrance Sunday - where the King will lead the annual service at the Cenotaph.

William is expected to arrive back in London for the solemn service, but is unlikely to be back in time for the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall the night before.

This week has seen a lot of powerful messages delivered by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Kate warned that excessive screen time can harm family life - something I'm sure we can all agree on. But for me, the most important message was delivered by her husband, when he said: "The best way to prevent suicide is to talk about it."

In an extremely moving film, which saw the Prince himself fight back tears, William aimed to bring the taboo topic into the open in the hope of raising awareness of the devastating impact of suicide. It's a difficult watch, I had to take several breaks, as although I'm a fierce advocate for mental health, it's not the easiest topic to write about.

If you've not been touched by suicide personally, it's easy to hold misconceptions about it or shy away from talking about it. I know that's been the case for me.

But by shining a light on the prevalence of suicide and launching a new National Suicide Prevention Network, William is showing everyone that mental health is something that should be talked about - and it may just save a life.

While the Royal Family were out in force this week supporting their charities, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in New York accepting a Humanitarian Award.

Many have scoffed at the controversial couple's new accolade, but they have been important advocates for the impact of social media on children.

It's an issue that scares most parents, as how can you police what your children access on their phones and prevent them from coming across harmful content? And as it takes place on a handheld device and not in the playground, classroom, or at home, it's hard to monitor and intervene.

So it's important that Harry and Meghan continue to publicise the issue, it's just a shame they are no longer within the Palace machine - as imagine the impact they would have if they teamed up with William and Kate?

Their concern for screens and social media is certainly aligned.

There's nothing like sitting down at the end of a long day and tuning into some reality TV, and it appears the Prince and Princess of Wales feel the same way.

They "absolutely love" The Traitors, says a well-placed source, who confirmed TV executive Stephen Lambert's remarks after his investiture ceremony on Wednesday.

Mr Lambert, the founder and chief executive of Studio Lambert - the production company behind The Traitors - said William and his family were "very much looking forward" to tuning in for The Celebrity Traitor's debut that night.

As it aired at 9pm, it's understood that only the two eldest children, Prince George, 12, and Princess Charlotte, 10, were allowed the "treat" of staying up to watch the show.