BBC shares statement over Prince Harry interview as it admits 'lapse in standards'
Harry spoke to the BBC last weekThe BBC has admitted a “lapse in editorial standards” over a news item following Prince Harry‘s bombshell interview.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, sat down with the broadcaster last week for an interview. It came after he lost his court battle over his security in the UK.
Prince Harry’s BBC interview
Last week, Prince Harry did an interview with the BBC, in which he spoke of his hope of reconciliation with the royal family.
“I can’t see a world in which I will be bringing my wife and children back to the UK. They’re going to miss everything, I love my country. I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK,” he admitted.
“It’s sad I won’t be able to show my children my homeland,” he continued.
“This current situation, which has been ongoing for five years with regard to human life and safety, is the sticking point. Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. But I would love reconciliation with my family,” he then said.
Prince Harry brands court defeat a ‘stitch-up’
Harry continued, saying: “There’s no point in continuing to fight any more. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has.
“He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. It would be nice to reconcile.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Harry described his court defeat as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up”.
Meanwhile, when asked whether he had asked the king to intervene in the dispute, Harry said: “I never asked him to intervene – I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.”
Buckingham Palace has since released a statement. It said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
This was a lapse in our usual high editorial standards.
Meanwhile, the Home Office – responsible for the security arrangements – added: “We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the government’s position in this case. The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
Following the interview, Harry’s interview was discussed on BBC Radio 4’s Today show.
During the show, his remarks about the removal of his UK security being an “establishment stitch-up” were repeated, but not challenged.
This led to the BBC making a statement.
BBC issues a statement on Duke of Sussex interview
The statement read: “Claims were repeated that the process had been ‘an establishment stitch-up’ and we failed to properly challenge this and other allegations.”
The broadcaster then went on to say that, specifically, the Today show had failed to reflect the position of Buckingham Palace and the Home Office.
“This was a lapse in our usual high editorial standards,” they added.
Prince Harry’s BBC interview was to ‘send a message’
According to a leading psychiatrist, Harry’s interview with the BBC, and his comments about his relationship with his father, were to “send a message“.
“Prince Harry’s BBC interview was explosive enough to generate a new round of global headlines questioning his stability, his motives, and even his very sanity,” Dr. Raj Persuad, a Harley Street clinical psychiatrist, told The Express.
“My instinct, given that one of the duke’s many laments is his ongoing estrangement from the royals, is that his latest public outpouring was in fact an attempt to send a message to the king and other members of his family.”
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