BBC shelves Princess Diana documentary 'after pressure from Landowner'

[Tony Gosling]

BBC shelves Princess Diana documentary 'after pressure from Prince Charles'
Dec 30, 2014 00:00 By Victoria Murphy, Mark Jefferies
The two-part documentary Reinventing The Royals has been axed from 
its prime-time 9pm slot this Sunday
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bbc-shelves-princess-diana-documentary-4890704

BBC bosses have shelved a controversial documentary about the 
aftermath of Princess Diana's death after legal pressure from Prince 
Charles, it has been claimed.
The two-part documentary Reinventing The Royals has been axed from 
its prime-time 9pm slot this Sunday.
It claims that the Royal Family employed PR experts who used 
controversial 'spin' tactics to make Charles and Camilla 
Parker-Bowles more appealing to the public after Diana was killed in 1997.
Presented by former Panorama Editor Steve Hewlett, the hour-long 
documentary had already been included in BBC schedules after being 
cleared by BBC lawyers, the corporation's editorial policy team and 
at the highest level of management.
However it is understood it was put on hold at the last minute by BBC 
news chief James Harding after lawyers acting on behalf of Charles 
and Camilla wrote of their concerns to the BBC.
The decision to postpone the programme was backed by the Director 
General Tony Hall.
It came so late that details of its content had already been given to 
the Radio Times.
The documentary includes the first TV interview with Sandy Henney, 
who was press secretary to Prince Charles when Diana died.
She said: "I remember briefing one of our private secretaries on the 
phone saying, 'I know you're seeing this on television but you really 
have to be here to feel the atmosphere.
'The people here are really anti-monarchy.' I was really worried 
about where it was going to go."
Ms Henney said Charles' public image was in tatters when she took up 
her post in 1993: "He was getting some pretty virulent criticism - 
bad father, unloving husband.
"I think he was pretty hurt... if you've got a middle-aged balding 
man and a beautiful princess, it's a no-brainer as to who is going to 
get the media coverage."
Steve Hewlett told the Radio Times that Prince Charles hired spin 
doctor Mark Bolland - dubbed 'Blackadder' by Harry and William - who 
attempted to repair his battered image by showing him as a single 
parent and caring father.
Another key objective was to encourage the public to accept his lover 
Camilla - a campaign known to palace insiders as 'Operation Mrs PB'.
A BBC spokeswoman said: "The BBC is delaying broadcast of the 
documentary Reinventing The Royals, due to be shown on BBC Two on 
January 4, until later in the New Year while a number of issues 
including the use of archive footage are resolved."
A spokeswoman for Clarence House refused to say whether or not royal 
lawyers had been in touch over the documentary and said: "Scheduling 
is a matter for the broadcaster."


Latest book on Diana accident out 10th December 2014
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How They Murdered Princess Diana: The Shocking Truth

www.amazon.co.uk/How-They-Murdered-Princess-Diana/dp/1505375061/

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