Royal family may boycott BBC over William and Harry allegations

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Royals go to war with BBC again

The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William threatened to launch a three-household boycott of the BBC after it was revealed the company was planning to show a two-part documentary alleging Prince Harry and Prince William were doing part of a smear campaign against each other at the height of their feud.

The palace is furious that it was not allowed to view the documentary in advance and says it is denied the right to respond to the damaging allegations, reports the Mail on Sunday.

The feud is likely to further test the already strained relationship between the BBC and the Royal Family, which has come under unprecedented pressure since May, when the company apologized for Martin Bashir’s deception to secure his infamous Panorama interview with the Princess Diana.

The new documentary, Princes and the Press is due to air on BBC Two on Monday and Tuesday evenings and it is suspected that it will echo claims by Finding Freedom co-writer Omid Scobie that Prince William and his team have hinted that Prince Harry was grappling with his sanity after Harry and Meghan’s explosive interview with Tom Bradby in Africa, in which Meghan suggested the royal family had not checked to see if she was okay while she struggled with royal life.

These claims were cut at the last minute from an ITV documentary titled Harry and William: What Went Wrong? just before this program airs on ITV in July.

The Mail on Sunday says the BBC allegations have caused upset at Windsor Castle, adding: Households are all united in thinking this is not fair. No one at the palace saw him.

You can’t make a documentary about royal journalism without mentioning the briefings. He does not point the finger at any individual.

Source

BBC sources told the Mail that BBC bosses decided the show did not violate company guidelines, with one source saying: You can’t make a documentary about royal journalism without mentioning briefings. He does not point the finger at any individual.

The two-part film is presented by BBC media editor Amol Rajan and the BBC says it will provide context for William and Harry’s relations with the media.

Although the BBC and the Royal Family have at times had strained relations, they generally cooperate for their mutual benefit. This year, for example, the BBC aired Earthshot, a multi-part series inspired by Prince Williams’ eponymous awards for innovation in tackling climate change, and a Prince Phillip hagiography with many contributions from senior members of the the Royal family.

Tensions over the years have included Bashir’s interview and a 2007 documentary on the Queen, which included a photoshoot with Annie Leibovitz.

Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

The BBC edited a promotional clip to make it look like the Queen had escaped from an angry shoot, and the BBC was then forced to apologize.

It will be interesting to see if a last minute compromise that benefits both institutions can be achieved. It would be extremely damaging for the BBC not to have access to the most profitable stars in British public life as the Platinum Jubilee celebrations approach in June of next year. And with all the headwinds it faces, can the palace really afford to go into exile from one of its friendliest media spokespersons?

Problem for a king

No one, of course, has forgotten the Prince Charles’ honors money scandal. To recap, it is alleged that the former chief assistant to Prince Charles, Michael Fawcett, solicited donations to charities from his masters in exchange for pledges of honors.

Now the Sunday Times says it has got its hands on hundreds of pages of new evidence that shows how his aides helped fix a CBE for a Saudi billionaire.

Peter Nicholls – WPA Pool / Getty Images

The Sunday Times presents a compelling countdown going from 2013, when the first introduction is made between Mahfouz bin Mahfouz and Charles, to 2016, when the honor is finally bestowed in a private ceremony not recorded in Charles’s official journals. .

The communications expose a fascinating dance of fixer-uppers first negotiating their way to a meeting between the billionaire and Charles, then securing massive donations and trying to find their way to get his gong in Mahfouz.

In one of the letters, for example, a repairman from Mahfouz writes to his assistant telling him that continuing to build a friendship with Charles will lead to very personal attention from Prince Charles.

In June 2014 Mahfouz donated 700,000 to Charles’ charities and in October of the same year he dined with Charles at his Dumfries House estate in Scotland, after which Charles unveiled a fountain which bears his name.

The correspondence continues in 2015 where Charles sets up a meeting with the billionaire at a British embassy in Saudi Arabia, and in March of that year, a nomination for an honor is submitted on his behalf. In November 2016, the billionaire received his honor during a private investiture at Prince Charles’ home at Clarence House.

Charless’s key assistant Fawcett took the blow for this one, resigning in disgrace from his lifelong role alongside Charles. It remains to be seen how much mud will stick to the future king of this vulgar episode.

Camilla prepares for royal promotion

Prepare early for Queen Camilla! Camilla Parker Bowles is set to play a major role in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations next year, the Mail on Sunday reports, given that the Queen herself will likely cut back on what she is capable of to do. This means Charles and his wife will step up to take charge of more events that she would have attended.

Camilla will chair the Big Lunch, where thousands of groups of families and friends gather for street parties to mark 70 years of Her Majesty’s reign, the newspaper reports.

A palace source told the Mail on Sunday: This is part of a series of events unfolding, but it means Camilla will have a central role to play in leading the nation in the celebrations, a sign of her responsibilities increasing.

The newspaper also crucially reported that Camilla has a Fitbit watch to keep in shape and a new hairstylist.

Finnbarr Webster – WPA Pool / Getty Images

A palace source told the newspaper: The Duchess is increasingly comfortable in the role and confident in getting the job done. She knows very well what it is.

This was reflected, his public relations officials insisted to the Mail on Sunday on Charles and Camillas’ four-day trip to Jordan and Egypt this week. It’s about showing the world what the Royal Family can do. Camilla is accumulating years of work in the Middle East which is vital for Britain and the world, a source close to Camilla said without any humility.

Charles: the queen is fine, thank you very much

Prince Charles was meeting business leaders at the Royal Scientific Society in Amman, Jordan, with his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, when asked how his mother, the Queen, was doing. According to The Sun, Charles replied: Everything is fine, thank you very much. Once you get to 95, it’s not as easy as it used to be. It’s bad enough at 73.

He’s absolutely right of course, also in his gently sinister manner reminding us of how old he is, and how long he’s waited to be king. Earlier in the week, Charles had checked with the Queen whether, given his state of health, he should make the trip. She gave him OK.

This week in royal history

Around the same time last year, Elle reported that Harry and Meghans were planning to hold a first American Thanksgiving at their home in Montecito, California. They are going to have a leisurely dinner at home and look forward to celebrating their first American Thanksgiving in the United States with their family, a source told ELLE.com. The author of the article was Carolyn Durand, half of the duo who brought us Finding Freedom, now revealed to be very intimately briefed by Harry and Meghan themselves.

Unanswered questions

Are the BBC and the Palace really going to fall out? Will Meghan Markles move on to mom like everyone else, as she debuted on Ellen this week? Or will her legal proceedings, and more revelations about what she and Harry have or not told her biographers, and various other outstanding controversies around the alleged royal racism and bullying allegations against her, come back – they to upset the new sunny smiles?

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