Monarchy critic’s series on William and Harry sparks fears over bias
‘Today’ presenter Amol Rajan, who wrote about his dislike for Royal family, to host BBC documentary
THE BBC has been accused of risking impartiality by commissioning a documentary about the younger members of the Royal family from a once vocal critic of the monarchy.
Amol Rajan, the coproration’s media editor and presenter of Radio 4’s Today, will present a two-part series telling “the definitive story of one of the most dramatic periods in royal history for a generation”.
The Princes and the Press, on BBC Two, will examine the years in which the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex have charted what the BBC describes as “very different courses” in their relationship with the media.
Royal commentators have criticised earlier “anti-monarchist” sentiments expressed by Mr Rajan. In a 2012 column for The Independent on the media’s relationship with the Royal family he described the notion of a hereditary monarchy as “absurd” and the Prince of Wales as “scientifically illiterate”.
He said: “I have nothing against Prince Harry, Prince William, Catherine Middleton or the Queen. Other Royals, particularly Prince Philip and the scientifically illiterate Prince Charles, who champions policies that would lead to the murder by starvation of millions of Africans, I dislike.”
He added: “When it comes to our absurd monarchy, journalists are so bamboozled by aristocratic wealth that they can only portray a confected picture.” On coverage of the Duchess of Cambridge, he said: “What you get is an idol, not a person.”
The choice of Mr Rajan, 38, to front the documentary, which starts on Nov 22, has raised fears about its tone.
Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s former press secretary, said: “Unfortunately reporting at the BBC seems to have fallen by the wayside – now it’s all about opinion. Has Amol Rajan changed his opinion since the Indie?”
Joe Little, of Majesty, said: “Amol Rajan’s piece, written during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, left readers in no doubt about his anti-monarchist stance. Nine years on, and now at the beleaguered BBC, it will be interesting to see if those sentiments prevail. I hope that as a presenter his approach will be more moderate and balanced.”
After a stint as editor of The Independent, Mr Rajan became the BBC’s first media editor in November 2016.
Episode one of The Princes and the Press covers the years after the Diamond Jubilee and the positive media reaction to the new generation of royals. It charts the years up to the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The documentary examines the activities of some papers, such as “hacking” and “blagging”, and how these were used to target members of the Royal family
The BBC said: “This article [in The Independent] pre-dates Amol’s work at the BBC. Once journalists join the BBC, they leave past views at the door. Amol is an experienced BBC journalist who reports on all of the topics he covers in an impartial way and in line with the BBC’s editorial guidelines. All BBC current affairs output is required to be
impartial.”.