What The Royal Family Allegedly Threatened To Do To BBC
The British royal family's characteristic "stiff upper lip" attitude is being sorely tested lately. In addition to the constant tabloid gossip and speculation (the queen can't let out a sneeze without experts speculating on her health), recent TV shows are showing the royals in a less-than-flattering light. Chief among them, of course, is the infamous Oprah interview in which Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made allegations of racism within the palace (via CBS News). Then, there's the popular Netflix series "The Crown," which shows a fictionalized portrayal of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Now that the series has entered the 1990s — the decade that saw the divorce and death of Princess Diana — the royals have allegedly been advised that they could sue the show's producers to keep them from airing their depiction of that troubled time.
While the palace hasn't acted on that particular advice, they're definitely on the attack against a new BBC series focusing on two warring members of the family. "The Princes and the Press" is a two-part documentary scheduled to air in the UK beginning November 22. Per the BBC's description, the series "charts the years leading up to and including the engagement and marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex." It promises to focus on the media's relentless targeting of the royals — particularly Princes William and Harry — and how this led to the Sussexes' decision to leave royal life for the relative privacy of America.
What has the royals seeing red is that the BBC has refused to let them see the documentary prior to its airing — and they're prepared to take action.
The palace may cut all ties with the BBC
The Daily Mail is reporting that, in an unusually united move, the queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William have submitted a complaint to the BBC. Reportedly, they have all threatened to stop cooperating with any future network production if they don't have an opportunity to screen and reply to "The Princes and the Press" prior to its airing. This could seriously impact the broadcasting giant, which has up until now had a good working relationship with the palace. This year, they joined with Prince William to create a multi-part series on the environment called "The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet."
The queen and the princes are allegedly very concerned that the "Princes" documentary might include a controversial rumor about Princes William and Harry. It has been rumored — but never proven — that the brothers enlisted their courtiers to plant unflattering comments about each other in the press. The Daily Mail explains that the palace has denied that rumor, and successfully pushed to have it removed from another documentary this past summer.
Some royals fans are equally skeptical. "The Press is investigating the Princes' relationship with the Press. The Press is investigating itself?" asked one Twitter commenter. Others expressed anger over the anti-Meghan Markle sentiment prominent in the British tabloids. "Doubt it'll address the full scope of the horrific media coverage Meghan faced (and continues to face)," said one Twitter user. I suspect we'll see interviews from the same journalists who've been gaslighting MM from the beginning."