Amid Controversy and Threats, BBC Reveals Fierce Media Wars Between Members of the British Royal Family

The British scene is witnessing a state of controversy and anger between the royal family and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) after the latter broadcast a documentary film on November 22, 2021 alleging the existence of fierce media wars between members of the royal family.

The second part of the documentary, “The Princess and the Press,” is scheduled to be shown on the British BBC2 channel, on Monday, November 29, 2021, which will discuss the period from 2018 to 2021.

The British newspaper Daily Mail revealed that the film will touch on the hidden media wars between Princes William and Harry, who he and his American wife Megan Markle decided early last year to give up royal life and leave for the United States, after British reports talked about deep differences with William and his wife Kate Middleton.

According to the newspaper, the royal palace is angry at the institution’s refusal to allow it to watch the film before its broadcast. It also threatened to end cooperation on future projects unless it was given the right to comment on the film.

 

The Princes and the Press

The new documentary, The Princes and the Press, which was broadcast by the BBC on the night of November 22, 2021, focuses, according to its creators, on the turbulent relationship between royal brothers Prince William, 39, and Prince Harry, 27, and the media.

The first episode of the film, presented by Amol Rajan, the BBC's media editor and a vocal critic of the monarchy, featured media coverage of the young royals from 2012 to 2018, when Harry and Meghan got engaged. It also contained allegations of competitiveness between the various royal families.

It also featured journalists and commentators who described how the information was obtained, whether via leaks, dishonest practices, or unofficial briefings between proprietary sources and reporters.

Dan Wootton, who was a journalist and columnist for the Daily Mail, also spoke out for his Tiaragate article on Duchess Meghan in November 2018, when he relayed allegations of a rift between Meghan and members of the royal family over her choice of a tiara at her wedding with Prince Harry.

It is alleged that Meghan wanted to wear an emerald tiara, but the Queen turned down her first choice. There is also allegedly a rift, and Harry is said to have said at the time: “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”

At that point, no national newspaper dared really dive into this huge war that was developing behind the scenes.

On its part, the BBC described the first part of the movie, which lasted an hour, it tells the story of one of the most dramatic periods in modern royal history, how William and Harry's relationship with the media changed after the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and the media reaction to the emergence of a new generation of members of the royal family.

On the other hand, the documentary called for the royal family to issue a joint statement in the name of all of them. 

“A free, responsible and open press is vital to a healthy democracy,” a statement from Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace said.

“However, exaggerated and baseless allegations from unnamed sources are often inflated and presented as facts. It is disappointing that anyone, including the BBC, would give it credibility,” the statement added.

“The 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth was disturbed by the news of the BBC's intention to broadcast the documentary without allowing members of the royal family to watch it before its premiere,” according to what The Telegraphnewspaper reported on November 21, 2021.

The Queen, Crown Prince Charles and Prince William have reportedly threatened a boycott of the BBC, because of its refusal to allow them to watch the documentary that details the royal family's relationship with the media, which reiterates allegations that Harry and William used the media against each other during the height of their dispute.

 

Terrible Disagreement

“The controversial BBC documentary was deeply biased against Prince William and Prince Charles, and painted a favorable portrait of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,” Royal experts told Daily Mail.

On its part, the British newspaper The Sun revealed in a report on November 23 that “William and Kate have banned the BBC from showing the Christmas carol party, out of anger over its documentary about the royal family.”

“Instead, the charity fundraiser, hosted by the Duchess at Westminster Abbey, will be shown on ITV,” the newspaper added.

A TV source said of the royal disdain to the same newspaper: “This is a real coup. Usually most of the royal programs automatically go to the BBC as the national broadcaster. Now it looks like they will be working more with ITV in the future.”

“Everything was arranged to be on BBC1 but has been switched over the past few days due to the terrible controversy over the documentary. Things are likely to get worse between the royal family and the BBC, because the second part of the documentary will be shown soon,” the source said.

Despite a series of meetings between Prince William's representatives and the BBC, it still refuses to show the second part of the film to the royal family before it is broadcast.

“The second part will cover the past three years and will highlight the differences between brothers William and Harry, especially since Harry had admitted in 2019 that he and his brother William we're going down two different paths,” according to the BBC.

On the other hand, the Daily Mail revealed that “the royal palace threatened to refuse to cooperate with the BBC on future projects, if royals are not given the right to respond to the full documentary.”

Such a move would mark the end of a long relationship between the royal family and the BBC. The joint projects between the two parties will be threatened, including a tribute to Prince Philip and the Earth Shot documentary series presented by Prince William, as well as the BBC's depiction of the Queen's Christmas speech.

In turn, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, expects that the second part on November 29, 2021 will undoubtedly worsen relations between the two brothers and the BBC and Buckingham Palace.

 

British Yellow Press

This is the second time that members of the royal family have intervened in the coverage of the dispute between the Duke of Cambridge (William) and his brother, the Duke of Sussex (Harry).

The Daily Mail reports that “in July 2021, hours before the broadcast of the documentary: Harry and William: What Went Wrong? ITV has removed allegations by Omid Scobey, a British journalist and biographer of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that Prince William and his staff planted a story about Prince Harry's mental health.”

So there is concern that the BBC documentary will repeat similar allegations revealing that they asked courtiers to slander each other in the media, which the two princes have consistently denied.

It is noteworthy that Prince William had attacked the BBC earlier this year after revealing the scenes of the episode that journalist Martin Bashir conducted with his mother, Diana, before her death.

An independent investigation revealed that Bashir used devious and deceptive tactics to obtain his interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1995, while chiefs from the BBC worked to cover these failures.

In March 2021, William became the first British royal to speak out about accusations of intolerance made by his younger brother Harry and his wife Meghan during their controversial ITV interview with US TV presenter Oprah Winfrey.

That interview revealed more tensions between the two brothers, who have long been seen as close and supportive of each other after the death of their mother in 1997.

It is noteworthy that there had been media speculation about the relationship between the two brothers for more than a year before Harry revealed the full extent of the feud between them during a tour of South Africa in 2019.

Harry and Meghan, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, moved to California in 2020 to lead a more independent life.

Harry indicated that one of the reasons for their departure was the racist treatment that Megan was subjected to; she has a black mother and a white father, according to British popular media.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's departure from royal duties began in 2020 due to what they describe as British media interference and racist attitudes towards Meghan. 

According to Professor Stephen Barnett, Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Westminster, in a lengthy article on The Conversation, Megan had the largest share since her arrival at the royal palace, in terms of defamation and racism, with titles that sometimes refer to their origins, others link them to terrorism, and trying to show her that she is inferior to Princess Kate, the wife of Prince William.”

The issues of diversity and racism have become increasingly raised in the British media and a challenge that must be faced.

A study from the British University of Leeds revealed that the media coverage in Britain of minority issues is very weak, if it is covered, it is linked to terrorism and crimes.