Right now as we write this, the Royal Family is joining together in an act of defiance against a soon-to-be-released documentary the BBC is planning to air for a couple of reasons. One, the documentary seems to plan on sharing some details about Prince William and Prince Harry‘s struggles with one another. The other, the Royal Family hasn’t been given a pre-screening of the documentary, which is setting off a lot of red flags for them.
Brothers in Arms
The first indication that something was off is that the person making the documentary is Amol Rajon who has spoken out against the family on multiple occasions, publicly declaring their monarchy “absurd”. It is with that information in mind that three senior members of the family joined together to register their complaint to the outlet and are attempting to have the documentary boycotted.
The main issue with the program is that it discusses Prince William speaking out against Harry in the press, with Harry doing the same thing in turn. A spokesperson for the palace was quick to say, “There is upset about it. The households are all united in thinking this is not fair. No one at the Palace has seen it.”
And the family is nervous about how people will react to the idea of in-fighting between the brothers. The BBC says the two-part program will provide more context for William and Harry’s strained relationship.
Royally Angry
What seems to be happening here is that Harry and William’s bumpy relationship will be coming to light, with stories that William leaked information about Harry’s somewhat fragile mindset during 2019. There is obviously still some familial fallout from Meghan Markle and Harry’s very public feelings about their lineage from the Oprah Winfrey interview from last year. Though the royals usually do a great job of keeping their lives private, the fear regarding this documentary is that it will divide the nation even more about them than they already are. And the Fallout could be quite serious, depending on how this is handled. In a statement to the BBC, the Royal Family announced:
A free, responsible and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy. However, too often it is overblown and unfounded claims from unnamed sources that are presented as facts and it is disappointing when anyone, including the BBC, gives them credibility.
But this isn’t the first time BBC and the royals have clashed. in 2007, BBC was forced to apologize publicly to the queen after implying she had stormed off a photoshoot for unknown reasons, so their working relationship was already rocky even before this latest documentary.
Moving Forward (Carefully)
The documentary, which begins airing on BBC on the 23rd of November is said to honestly portray the royal’s relationships (especially between brothers) and also offer some insight into how the press has to work with the royal family when it comes to covering them. Which is ironic, seeing as to how they are reacting to this particular story.
But at the end of the day, it does seem like the special will air regardless of it the family gets to screen it first, which may seriously dampen the somewhat symbiotic relationship they have had for so long. As to just how serious the fallout will be between the BBC and The Firm remains to be seen until the documentary itself airs.