Just after Queen Elizabeth II’s September funeral, we discussed a curious story: the Windsors had “veto power” on all of the footage from the funeral, and they could decide what was aired and what was not. As I pointed out, the funeral was paid for by the government, as QEII was the head of state and it was literally a state funeral involving a high-level military operation, international heads of state and a huge amount of security. I understand why the funeral was paid for by the British taxpayers. What I don’t understand is why the taxpayers and/or the BBC don’t “own” the footage. Why does it belong to the crown? And why do the Windsors have veto power? Well, BBC presenter David Dimbleby discussed all of that and much more during the Henley Book Festival:
One of the UK’s most revered broadcasters has revealed the level of control exerted by the British Royal Family over broadcasters’ rights for the Queen’s funeral. David Dimbleby, one of the BBC’s presenters for the huge service last month, told Henley Book Festival, that as he broadcast from St George’s Chapel in Windsor – where the Queen was buried in the final ceremony of the day – the BBC was receiving emails “almost simultaneously” from palace officials, dictating which clips of footage could not be shown in any subsequent broadcast.
During the live broadcast from St George’s chapel, the team weren’t under “any injunctions”, but were simply told “to be courteous and not show the King in floods of tears or dwell on it”.
Dimbleby told the Festival: “Prince George touching his nose, don’t show it. And it went on. Beatrice and Eugenie leaving St George’s, not to be shown. There was this complete list of things that no broadcaster could show because the copyright belongs to Buckingham Palace. I think that’s wrong, just wrong. It’s just interesting how tightly controlled monarchy is.”
Dimbleby also voiced his disapproval for the way the BBC tip-toes around the British monarchy, and refuses to tackle the more sensitive topics of money, privilege and deference. He said the BBC has an “old sore about the monarchy” and will “not go near” controversial topics. Such an opinion is nothing new, but this time it comes from David Dimbleby, for decades the BBC’s face and voice on state occasions. He is also the son of the late Richard Dimbleby, who commentated on the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
Dimbleby, now retired, said the BBC “would not go near things like the power that the palace has to change taxation legislation” or whether it was right for the Duchy of Cornwall not to pay capital gains tax.
“All those issues are never touched by the BBC because I think they feel their viewers will not like it — a visceral feeling. I think it is wrong and these things should be properly examined. It is not discourteous to question, it is not rude, it is important, because the way we are governed is important and the way our constitution works is important.”
[From The Independent & Deadline]
Someone on Twitter made a supercut of all of the original funeral footage which was later cut out, and it really was mundane bullsh-t like “George scratched his nose” and “Eugenie got up at one point.” Again, though, I’m focused on the ownership of the footage. How in the world does the monarchy scam the government and the taxpayers into paying millions for a state funeral, and then the monarchy claims that they alone “own” the footage? That needs to be examined, as does all of the other stuff Dimbleby is talking about. It’s easy to say “who cares, just do it, who needs to fight about this” when the crown demands that you edit out a kid scratching his nose, but it’s clearly part of a much larger problem of the BBC supplicating itself to the crown.
Some/most of the issues with the BBC aren’t even about the Windsors throwing their weight around, in my opinion. The BBC is getting battered in both directions – clearly, the right-wing factions of the British media want the BBC delegitimized and dethroned, while the left-wing factions of the British populace think the BBC has gotten into bed with the establishment to the point where the BBC no longer has legitimacy. Guess which side is running Prince William as their useful idiot?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images and Avalon Red.
- King Charles III, the Queen Consort in front of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London.,Image: 724154193, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Gareth Fuller / Avalon
- LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex follows behind The Queen’s funeral cortege borne on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy as it leaves Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.,Image: 724154654, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jeff Spicer / Avalon
- Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, London. Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Camilla Queen Consort, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Princess of Wales and Sophie Countess of Wessex.,Image: 724195093, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Adam Gerrard / Avalon
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: Arthur Chatto, Daniel Chatto, Mike Tindall, Zara Tindall, Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Lady Louise Windsor, James, Viscount Severn Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: Prince William, Prince of Wales, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Peter Phillips, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Catherine Princess of Wales and Camila Queen Consort Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: King Charles III Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: King Charles III, Camila the Queen Consort and Princess Anne Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Sophie Countess of Wessex and Meghan Duchess of Sussex Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Prince William, Prince George, Catherine Princess of Wales, and Princess Charlotte Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: Catherine Princess of Wales Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: Coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
This is just a test run. Soon they will be burying all kinds of news that is “unflattering” to the royal family and conservatives. King Charles is turning into
King Jong-Un. UK will become another Hermit Kingdom that no one wants to associate with.
Lol they already do all that now. When Louis had his tantrum, there was a moratorium on calling it a tantrum or even using that word when talking about it. All of a sudden, there were all these thinkpieces about how kids acting out is a sign of intelligence, how all mothers go through it, but scant mention of why that was suddenly a topic of discussion at that time. It was…curious. I think, at certain moments when there is a big “royal event” going on and international media is interested, the “value” of royal coverage goes up and so the BBC then goes overboard to ensure near-exclusive access. So we get strange decisions like this. They need to just get some kind of set policy down so they don’t come off looking like state propaganda
I don’t see a problem with asking that some things be cut out. George is a child and Eugenie is a private citizen who pays her own way. The bigger question is why there are never probes into “money, privilege and deference”.
It’s not that they “asked,” its that the BBC was “told.” That’s a fundamental difference in my opinion.
100%.
I got the impression that it was the length of the “donts” list that was the issue. I don’t think anyone would blame them for some very human and reasonable asks (not staying too long on Charles crying as he mourns his mom), but it seems to have gone well beyond that into just image management (George touching his nose)
Add to that the fact that the BBC is taxpayer funded…it’s gross that the crown has any control over taxpayer funded broadcasting
This. I think there is a balance of “we pretend the monarch still has all this power and you realize you don’t actually have any power and never ever push for it.” It worked for TQ because she actually had reigned since the before times and pretty much kept her side of the bargain.
Charles thinks the problems aren’t because the monarchy has no purpose in the modern world, but instead that the monarchy has become weak.
He’s lucky because the Tories are in power now, but he’s going to trigger a constitutional crisis at some point. I don’t think it will end the way he thinks it will. He seriously believes that if they get rid of the monarchy, the government will return the Crown Estates to him personally.
I think most Brits love the status quo. The portion of the British population that want to see those changes is truly small. An institution that receives public funding but is basically covered like a soap opera lol. Never an in depth reporting on what they actually do.
Honestly, if the Crown wants to own the footage, then the Crown needs to pay for the funeral.
The Crown is clearly invested in preserving the image of the Royal Family as “above” mere mortals – which makes sense, this whole thing falls apart if people realize that George is a 9 year old kid who might need to scratch his nose during a funeral service, or that charles is a son who might mourn his mother, or that someone had to leave for whatever reason. It was a funeral. There was nothing that happened that would bring down the monarchy in itself, nothing that was embarrassing for the royals (outside of their treatment of H&M) etc.
And dimbleby is absolutely right that the BBC should be talking about the monarchy in more objective terms. It’s not disrespectful to say “well is this how it should be?” or “does the audience know about this?”
My thing is is there truly an appeal for reporting about that family in more objective terms ? I’m not so sure.
I think there’s more of an appeal than some might realize. I think allowing the royals to control their own narrative for decades has been detrimental and the press should be fair and objective and take some of that narrative back. I’m not saying the BBC needs to start slamming the royals on a regular basis, but what’s wrong with a story about how much control the royals have over the funeral footage, even though the government paid for it? What’s wrong with a story about how the Duchy doesn’t pay capital gain taxes? Give people a more complete picture and then let them decide if they’re okay with the royal family or if they want changes.
Okay, in the NLs King WA was booed a couple of times in public recently. He was asked about it, and did a pretty good job of stating that it doesn’t bother him that much, since he sees it as directed at his function and not his person so to speak.
I think showing some of the human parts benefits how you see a RF. Most people want to relate to public figures nowadays, not view them from afar.
ML, unfortunately, I can’t see Chuck ever being able to say that. I agree that this makes King WA a more relatable figure. We know that there is no one on the planet who is liked by 100% of the people, which means there will always be someone who boos–if that’s allowed.
I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not sure news organizations ought to base their coverage on what would “appeal” to their readers or viewers. The purpose is supposed to be “to inform.” What the BBC is doing right now is lying by omission to its audience. That should be called out.
Is he saying the peasants think it’s rude to question the many ways the monarchy is cheating it’s subjects? The biggest racket on the planet is on Salt Island, y’all.
Probably some of this is due to the invisible contract. Obviously, the blurred line between covering the royal family as a family vs a firm has also had an impact. It will be interesting to see what happens now that the RF is losing popularity and the BBC’s fawning coverage is being made me re transparent.
Charles is aiming to completely control the royal family (particularly his and Camilla’s) image in the UK. Hell, he’s trying to extend it beyond the UK too but his reach doesn’t go that far. It’s only been a month and he’s already over reaching.
Well, @Snuffles, to be fair to the t’ird, his mummy did it. Unfortunately for him, mummy isn’t there anymore.
As Dimbleby points out, it goes far beyond the royals editing funeral footage, which is stupid but unimportant in the grand scheme of things. There is what is essentially a royal veto over certain legislation which effects the royals, either directly or indirectly. The monarch can, in effect, veto bills which would reduce taxes on tenants of the land the monarch holds as well as veto legislation which would increase taxes on the royals themselves. I am merely an American watching from afar, but, for the life of me, I do not understand why the proud British people put up with any of this. They could chuck it all tomorrow and be MUCH better off. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Just to clarify, its not “in effect.” They actually can. It’s called the Queen’s consent (I guess now the King’s consent) and they get to approve any law that affects them before it goes through Parliament.
Thanks for the clarification. I am a humble American trying to make sense of all this. We were taught in school that the British monarch is just a figurehead. No power at all. Must do as they are told by the elected government. Only as an adult have I learned this is not true at all. Turns out the royals can even control what researchers have access to in government archives!
Oh I’m American too lol. But this has stuck in my head once I learned it was a thing. If you want more insight into how the royals operate, I recommend the Norman Baker book “And What Do YOU Do?” its basically all about how the royals are nothing but grifters lol. It’s really interesting.
👍
Will it now change to the king’s consent?
“”” Guess which side is running Prince William as their useful idiot?””
This is also a good time to remember William successfully managed to get information removed from The Princes and the press. The doc wanted to show how William leaked information to the press about Harry’s poor mental health. He also went into a major sulk because the documentary was aired and gave the “Christmas Concert” to ITV.
Until the BRF pay my licence fee they should leave the Beeb to show what they want on my TV screen. If I don’t like it I can always change channels.
The first this was openly discussed was the unveiling at Princess Diana’s statue, when they produced lots of useless footage of William.
Notice the walk about just after the Queen died, same thing, lots of useless footage of William and Kate, but the focus remained on Meghan and Harry.
It would be interesting at the coronation, especially as the numbers of the uninterested continue to grow, they would allow the BBC to di what it does best.
The right wing news are doing poorly, the look at people who disagree with them and fake outrage, just keep those losers away from black street languages. They have pulverised “snowflake” and desecrated “woke”.
The losers cannot bother to create their own language.
The fail joined the bots and flag shaggers in creating content for YouTube. Advert dollars badly needed.
Yes, during the walk about at Windsor, the camera was on Meghan and Harry. A tall blonde motioned for the camera to move over to the Waleses. No one watching wanted to see them and they knew it. And they knew most people would be watching because of the Sussexes.
I think this is probably true for other stations as well, sucking up to the Royals and following their agendas for fear of dissolution or losing access, viewers, etc. I was disgusted at one reporter who, when quizzing people after the walkabout, approached a young girl and asked her questions about why she was there and which Royal she liked. She said her favorite Royal was Meghan and as soon as she said that the reporter’s smile literally dropped and he abruptly turned away from her and then the camera then turned away and they walked off and went on to something else. It was clear that the reporter was very unhappy that the girl was a supporter of Meghan and that it was caught on film, not to mention rude to the little girl. I’m sure the film of this encounter was destroyed!
This is the kind of bs that lets C-Rex think he can successfully bully American companies. The power tripping king has been openly flexing and testing his powers since Liz died. How much and how long will any respect and good will re TQ transfer to him? I think its only a matter of time before the govt and the BM get tired of the sh*t show aka his reign and show him who’s actually in charge. He clearly lacks critical and long term thinking as well as any leadership skills. His lack of empathy is also deeply concerning, esp in today’s climate.
OT: I’m still curious as to how Fergie got that “family” seating?
Remember that people were actually arrested for criticising the Windsors during the trillion days funeral. That should more than worry any sensible citizen of a modern, democratic nation. It’s terrifying.
Letthemeatcake, I totally agree. I want to know if the bm has found it newsworthy enough to report on the state of the UK after what Liz Truss has been doing. I’ve read some very good articles which explain it and I have to tell you if I lived there I would be beyond worried. The only good news is supposedly the Torys are looking at possibly removing her already. Also, has there been good coverage of the Bank of England and the Pension funds? If they’re not careful the whole economy is going to come tumbling down.
The BBC should be reporting on these issues and not reporting on the brf. The brf is not going to help anyone.
Complete bile. Sadly, all of it is. Top to bottom.
I still want to know how Andrew groping his daughter in full view of cameras at his mother’s memorial service was covered up so thoroughly.
Emily, oh, I’m sure the brf made sure that video was buried. Of course, it’s on Twitter.
I’m really pleased he said this. The Dimblebys are seen as very much establishment and very serious journalists, almost uber BBC, so it carries weight if David Dimbleby calls out the RF. His younger brother, Jonathan, was the one who did the 1990s documentary on Charles in which Charles talked about his adultery. Charles and Jonathan Dimbleby became quite close. I think Charles thought it was a great friendship, almost like he had an ally from a well thought of family. I’m not sure if Jonathan Dimbleby saw it like that.
King Charles better try not to look like a tyrant -ruling over all parts of the UK and making decisions that only benefits the royal family.
You just know he’s going to try. William will probably try the same thing when it’s his turn.