Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Clarence House called the BBC’s latest documentary, The Princes and the Press, “overblown and unfounded.”
“A free, responsible and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy,” the joint statement to the BBC from the royal household’s reads. (RELATED: Kate Middleton Mortified, ‘Hurt’ Following Meghan Markle’s Claims Duchess Made Her ‘Cry,’ Royal Author Shares)
“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,” the statement adds.
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The network has defended the BBC Two’s documentary about Prince William and Prince Harry. It said it’s “about how royal journalism is done and features a range of journalists from broadcast and the newspaper industry,” E! News reported.
The two-part show documents the way the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex have “charted very different courses of their relationship with the media.” (RELATED: Meghan Markle’s Rep Denies Former Advisor To The Duchess Filed Bullying Complaint Against Her)
BBC Two describes the series as focusing on the “princes’ relationship with the media” and goes from the royal brothers earlier years all the way up to and including Prince Harry’s wedding to former “Suits” actress Meghan Markle.
It also deals with “some of the illegal activities engaged in by some newspapers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including hacking and ‘blagging'” and the Sussex’s “decision to step down from their senior royal roles.” And it examines their mother’s, Princess Diana’s, experiences with the press and while exploring the effect it had on both of her sons.
The documentary is presented by BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan, who once called the monarchy “absurd” in a piece for the Independent in 2012.