Royal Family Issues Rare Statement After 'Overblown and Unfounded Claims' in New BBC Documentary
The British royal family has released a rare joint statement after a BBC documentary highlighting the relationship between royal brothers Prince Harry and Prince William and the media was aired.
In the joint statement of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace, the royal family condemned the BBC for publicizing "overblown and unfounded claims," according to Fox News.
The first part of the new docuseries titled "The Princes and The Press," aired in the U.K. on Monday night, featured journalists and commentators describing how information was obtained.
The royal family noted that a free, responsible, and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy. However, the royal family added that "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."
BBC responded to the statement and noted that the program is about "how royal journalism is done" and features a variety of journalists from broadcast and the newspaper fields.
The BBC also defended its documentary by saying it looked at the "tensions for the two royals" between the gain of publicity and the downside of intrusion and how they tried to handle the press.
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BBC Documentary "The Princes and The Press"
The first episode shows the relationship of Prince William and Prince Harry with the media after Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The episode "The New Generation" also shows some of the illegal activities engaged in by some newspapers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which includes hacking and "blagging," and how these tactics were used to target members of the royal family and their associates, ET Online reported.
The second part, which is set to be aired on November 29, will feature the period of 2018 to 2021, which includes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior members of the royal family.
The second episode will also show the birth of their son, Archie, the Duchess and Duke of Sussex's final royal tours, and Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal duties.
The program will also explore certain royal stories and how the narrative around the Sussex family's rift with the royal family became public.
The author of the biography "Finding Freedom," Omid Scobie, will also talk about Markle in the program. Scobie noted that there were some people who just felt that the Duchess of Sussex needed to be put in her place, and by leaking a negative story, "that's the punishment," Town & Country reported.
He noted that there had been rumors for quite some time that the most damaging and negative stories about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have come from other royal households, other royal aides, or courtiers.
Private investigator Gavin Burrows was also featured in the program. Burrows apologized for tailing Chelsy Davy using surveillance methods when she started dating Prince Harry in 2014. He said that his actions "were ruthless."
Meanwhile, royal experts claimed that the BBC documentary was "very biased" against Prince William and Prince Charles while painting a favorable picture of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Daily Mail reported.
The royals were reportedly furious and did not get sufficient opportunity to reply to the allegations in the show.
They were said to have threatened a boycott on future projects with the BBC after courtiers were not allowed to view the program before the first episode was released.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Royal Family Issues Statement Criticizing New BBC Documentary - From ET Canada
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