Expert: 'No Longer Fit For Purpose' BBC is in Trouble Over 'False Narratives' About UK Royal Family

On 22 November, BBC2 ran the first episode of its documentary The Princes and The Press, turning the spotlight on the "frosty" relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William. This prompted the British Royal family to issue a statement accusing the broadcaster of spouting “overblown and unfounded claims."

Tensions are threatening to boil over between the UK Royal Family and the British Broadcasting Corporation after BBC2 aired the first episode of the two-part documentary The Princes and The Press on 22 November.

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The BBC claimed its series aims to provide "context" for the much-speculated rift between Princes William and Harry, and how it was covered by the media. However, the acutely “disappointed” royals, in a joint statement by Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Clarence House have accused the broadcaster of airing “overblown and unfounded claims” and reportedly threatened it with a boycott.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth, center, and members of the royal family attend the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony in London, Saturday, June 8, 2019.

© AP Photo / Frank Augstein

The first episode detailed media coverage of the royal brothers from 2012 to 2018, when Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle started dating and eventually became engaged.

The controversial show featured claims that negative stories about the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex had been leaked by other royal households; "behind the scenes" royal sources had briefed journalists, while Meghan Markle's lawyer Jenny Afia responded to reports in 2018 that the Duchess had bullied royal staff.

In this Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 file photo Meghan the Duchess of Sussex stands after she and her husband Britain's Prince Harry placed a Cross of Remembrance as they attend the official opening of the annual Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in London

© AP Photo / Matt Dunham

The royals have lamented the fact that they were refused the opportunity to watch the documentary before it was aired to properly address the claims made in it. The current tension between the Royal Family and the BBC calls to mind the infamous Princess Diana interview withMartin Bashir broadcast by Panorama in late 1995.

In this July 29, 1981 file photo, Britain's Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are shown on their wedding day at St. Paul's Cathedral in London

© AP Photo

After an independent inquiry by Lord Dyson found the journalist used deception to secure the interview and then lied to BBC managers, the broadcaster made an "unconditional apology" over the way it obtained the interview with Diana.

‘Creative Licensing, False Narratives’

The BBC is not a friend of the Royal family or the British people, believes Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, founder and director of the British Monarchists Society. According to him, the corporation treats its royal charter as a “joke” and its viewership with “contempt,” despite its income stemming from the audience.

“For years the Corporation has had a current of anti-monarchy sentiment and it is ever so clear with the airing of "The Princes and the Press", a documentary which was presented by a well known republican BBC correspondent who has referred to the monarchy as "absurd". Queen Elizabeth II has also been the subject of BBC “creative licensing and false narratives,” says Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills.

He says the BBC has been driven by a biased, left-wing, and anti-monarchy agenda. “There is no hiding it now despite what they may say in their own defence,” says Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills.

'Its Own Worst Enemy’

Part 1 of the BBC docu-series gave the floor to Meghan Markle's lawyer Jenny Afia, who denied that the Duchess of Sussex bullied royal staff. However, the Royal Family is constantly denied a defence in the public sphere against a plethora of allegations, says the American commentator on the British royal family. However, this is happening not just because a platform such as the BBC doesn't see a need for it – instead, it's down to those running the Palace thinking they “know better,” claims Mace-Archer-Mills.

According to him, Jason Knauf, the 37-year-old royal staffer thrust into the spotlight after giving evidence against Meghan Markle – whom he was employed by as a communications secretary and aide between 2015 and 2018 – was brave to break his silence. Knauf called out injustice within the Royal household, speaking out in the defence of certain members of the Royal family.

Earlier this year, Markle won a private information and copyright infringement case against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), publishers of the Mail on Sunday, over their publication of what she claimed was a "personal and private" letter to her father. ANL argued that Knauf had co-written the letter, although at the time he denied this, ultimately leading to Markle winning her case.

(FILES) In this file photo Britain's Prince Harry and wife Meghan arrive for a public walk at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on October 16, 2018

© AFP 2023 / DAN HIMBRECHTS

Since February's ruling, ANL has appealed the High Court's decision and this week Knauf gave evidence against Markle, expressing regret at not revealing that the Duchess wrote the letter knowing it might be leaked to the press.

“This brings the question as to why he is the only one out of all the aides and courtiers to try and set the record straight. Is it because he believes in truth rather than status and good pay as a member of the Royal Household?” queries Mace-Archer-Mills.

According to the royal expert, “the suits” continue to think that the approach of “never complain, never explain” is still viable. On the contrary, the expert insists that untruths need to be “shot-down and made right.”

“The truth is what needs to be found in this mad world of malicious, keyboard warrior, twittersphere bullying and hate, but those in the Palace do not rise up for what is right, or a lot of the truth, unless it is devastatingly detrimental to the core of the monarchy itself,” says Mace-Archer-Mills.

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in this undated handout photo.

© REUTERS / Handout .

The case with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their plethora of controversial interviews since stepping away from royal duties, such as the tell-all with US TV host Oprah Winfrey, has prodded the Palace into denying certain allegations. “People in their gilded offices, not the Royals themselves, truly do a disservice to the institution of the monarchy itself… The Palace is its own worst enemy at times, not the media, and not exiled members of the Royal family,” says the expert.

‘Talk It Out’

The BBC documentary claims that Princes William and Harry instructed their aides to plant smears against each other in the media. Speculation about a rift between the two brothers dates back to around 2018, fuelled by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to move out of Kensington Palace, and was apparently confirmed in a 2019 interview by the Duke of Sussex. In it, he said he loves his brother, but noted that they were on different paths.

In this file photo dated Monday March 9, 2020, from back, Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince Charles, front, as the family members leave the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in London.

© AP Photo / Phil Harris

After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to step down as senior royals in order to become independent on 8 January 2020, the relationship reportedly soured even further. However, recently it's been reported that William banned aides from speaking out against family members after seeing the devastating impact left on his parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, by media attacks.

“The Duchess of Sussex has her own way of dropping little bombs of her own "truth" which may not be told to or authorised by her husband which leads to several issues between William and Harry,” says Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills.

He points to the fact that Princes William and Harry have repeatedly joined forces to support each other and are not plotting against each other. The expert believes that differences can be solved between the brothers when they talk together as adults.

“The Royals are at the mercy of their aides and their secretaries, teams that think they know best, more so than the royal persons themselves. Sometimes a family matter needs to be sorted directly by the family members, and this is the truth where Princes William and Harry are concerned. Man up, talk it out, repair the bonds of brotherhood. Leave the suits out of it,” urged Mace-Archer-Mills.

‘No Longer Fit For Purpose’

As for the Royals reportedly threatening to boycott the BBC's future projects, Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, applauds the fact that the Royal households have come together as one to stand against the corporation.

“Should the Royal family boycott the Corporation, which runs on a Royal Charter, the British public will see big changes within the BBC, especially with mass calls to abolish the license fee and make the state broadcaster stand on its own financial footing like other networks,” believes the royal expert.

According to him, the BBC is “no longer fit for purpose and is out of touch with the nation.”

A BBC logo is pictured on a television screen inside the BBC's New Broadcasting House office in central London, on November 12, 2012.

© AFP 2023 / Carl Court

“The BBC is in trouble, but refuses to acknowledge this truth. Members of the public and monarchists alike, are already boycotting the BBC, but the question remains, why has it taken the Royals so long to do so?” concludes Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills.