The royal family is coming together in response to a new BBC documentary that has enraged the Queen. The Prince and the Press is the new BBC2 documentary that will air today, and the royal family has apparently been denied access to see it before it airs in the UK. Reportedly, the film is hosted by BBCanti-monarchist presenter Amol Rajan, who has previously called the monarchy absurd.
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The Queen has joined Princes Charles and William in warning the BBC that they may cut off all ties with it. For the first time, they are planning to file a complaint with regulator Ofcom as a group. There is a lot of distress regarding this in the royal family:
There is upset about it. The households are all united in thinking this is not fair. No one at the Palace has seen it.
Lawyers on cue
Rumour has it that the royals' right to respond is also claimed to have been denied by the broadcaster. Further, the series will imply that feuding siblings Princes William and Harry encouraged courtiers to spread false information about each other in the press. If the statements are not deleted, senior palace sources suggest the royals will impose a boycott on the national broadcaster. A senior royal source commented,
Nothing is ruled out.
Therefore, the royal family has warned their lawyers to be ready; in case, they need to take any legal actions against the BBC. However, the spokesmen for the Queen, William or Charles, were not available to comment on it yet.
BBC is tight-lipped
The BBC has remained tight-lipped about the documentary so far and refused to comment on any royal family objections. However, this could also be due to last-minute modifications to incorporate the Duchess of Sussex's apology for misleading the court about her degree of authorisation for the biography Finding Freedom. BBC has only issued the following statement in respect to the documentary,
The programme is about how royal journalism is done and features a range of journalists.
As such, this new controversy stems from a previous BBC documentary controversy. The previous one was called Harry and William: What Went Wrong? that caused upheaval and unrest in the royal family as well. Further, it is still unclear whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have objected to the princes' and the press's content.
