THE BBC has admitted its new “documentary” about King Charles avoids addressing the difficult headlines which have plagued the royal family this year.
Charles III: The Coronation Year aired on BBC One on Boxing Day and looks back on the preparations for his crowning.
But it avoids tackling the news stories that have rocked the royals over the last year, including controversies around Prince Harry and Prince Andrew, accusations of racism or protesters arrested during the Coronation.
A BBC news story about the documentary described it as being “a warm and sympathetic account of the new reign” which lacked “glimpses of any difficult headlines from the year”.
Graham Smith, the chief executive of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, live tweeted a review of the “documentary” calling it an “attempt by the BBC to shamelessly promote the Royals”.
He added: “It's a farce. A PR piece, engineered to promote the undemocratic values of the monarchy.”
The palace has previously been accused of attempting to exert “draconian” restrictions on journalists seeking to interview members of the royal family.
In 2015, The Guardian reported that Channel 4 News turned down an interview with Charles, then Prince of Wales, because the palace asked to vet all questions and to edit the end product.
A major poll from earlier this year showed support for ending the monarchy to be at the all time high of 28%.
