Too much, and so disrespectful!
So there can be such a thing as too much deference? Who knew?!
The BBC’s wall-to-wall coverage of Prince Philip’s death has become the most complained-about moment in British television history, as viewers expressed their annoyance that shows such as EastEnders and MasterChef were replaced with royal tributes.
At least 110,994 people have contacted the BBC to express their displeasure at the decision to turn most of the corporation’s TV channels and radio stations over to rolling tributes to the Queen’s husband.
BBC One and BBC Two dedicated Friday evening’s programming to Philip, and their ratings fell as viewers switched off altogether, turned to streaming services or watched shows such as Gogglebox on Channel 4.
But but but but he was so important. Plus his death was such a shock and surprise, what with him being only 99 and all.
How we’ll miss those stories of the dear man crashing his car into people as he careened along the roads near Sandringham.
Within hours of Philip’s death the number of complaints about the coverage had become so large that the BBC set up a dedicated form in an attempt to streamline the process. This form was then taken down on Sunday, making it harder for people to register their displeasure.
Well they weren’t supposed to use the form. Peasants.
Not all the complaints were about the extent of the BBC’s coverage. Almost 400 people wrote in to complain that Prince Andrew had featured despite his association with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and refusal to answer questions posed by the FBI.
That is, despite his association with serial rapist and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his refusal to answer questions about whether or not he had joined his pal Epstein in any of the serial raping of trafficked teenage girls. That association.
A further 233 people complained that BBC presenters were not wearing sufficiently respectful clothes, with viewers complaining that not all newsreaders were wearing black…
collapses in helpless laughter
I was shocked to see Andrew’s mug show up at the top of a sidebar po-up story about how Phillip’s death had left a big hole in the Queen’s life. I’d though he was under orders to STFU. Who thought it would be a good idea to put him in front of a camera that wasn’t taking his mug shot. Maybe this isn’t an accident. They’re pissing people off on purpose! Maybe it’s all part of a plot to further undermine support for the monarchy….
It might actually be possible that neither the royals in general nor their sycophantic adherents fully grasp just how deeply they are despised around the world, even in their last remaining “we’re just a symbol” roles.
I thought I was the only person to think that the TV news in France had gone overboard on Prince Philip (and it must have been worse in the UK). Even my wife thought we hadn’t had enough about the Royal Family, so this week we’ve watched a programme about him and another about the Queen. One of the things they’ve mentioned several times is the sacrifices he had to make to marry the richest woman in the world, specifically that he had to abandon his glittering career in the Navy. Plenty of men had a “good war”, as they say, and found it difficult to enter civilian life afterwards: what was different about him?
The philosopher Hans Küng died, at the age of 93, a couple of days before Prince Philip. Not really my cup of tea either but still, surely a more significant figure than Prince Philip: how much news has there been on TV about him?
A good laugh, but also it reminded me of my own genuine shock when my aunt died last year. ‘She was still young!’ I thought to myself, before pausing. She was 73 and a grandmother for crying out loud – not ancient, but definitely elderly. I had just thought that she was young, because I had become used to my family living a very long time; 93, 97, 103, and I am told the parents of those last two also reached 103. I guess I got a bit complacent.