The BBC last night appeared to back down on claims that Buckingham Palace briefed against Harry and Meghan after being accused of peddling ‘overblown and unfounded’ allegations.
A BBC2 documentary examining the relationship between the royal households and the media also stepped back from suggestions that William allowed aides to brief about his brother’s mental health – which was categorically denied by, and deeply offended many in, the royal household.
Amol Rajan, a BBC journalist, was in charge of the two-part documentary series. It had been met with unprecedented condemnation from Buckingham Palace Clarence House, and Kensington Palace.
The royal households believe it contains a slew of unsubstantiated and categorically inaccurate accusations about collusion with the media, particularly in connection with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during the tumultuous period of their decision to quit royal duties, dubbed ‘Megxit’.
The households’ lawyers had been preparing to examine the final programme with a fine-tooth comb and had not ruled out a formal complaint.
But last night’s prime-time offering had seemingly been watered-down at the 11th hour, with editing going on up until the last minute. The BBC has also postponed plans for a podcast.
A royal source said: ‘It is unlikely the matter will be taken further.’

The show was supposed to have Buckingham Palace briefed against Harry & Meghan

It was also believed the episode would allege that William allowed aides to brief about his brother’s mental health

Amol Rajan (BBC journalist) was the host of two parts of the documentary series. The show has already been subject to unprecedented criticism
The programme did, however, give significant airtime to Meghan’s personal solicitor, who went on the attack to defend the duchess against accusations of bullying, denying she had ever ‘improperly’ used her ‘power’.
Speaking with the Duchess of Sussex’s express permission, Jenny Afia, of libel lawyers Schillings, insisted there were ‘massive, massive inaccuracies’ in claims that she had targeted and forced out several members of staff.
These claims, first published earlier this year by Buckingham Palace, now face an internal inquiry.
In an interview for the documentary, entitled The Princes And The Press, Miss Afia said: ‘The overall allegation was the Duchess of Sussex was guilty of bullying.
‘No, absolutely not. The first thing you need to know about bullying is:
‘What bullying actually means is improperly using power repeatedly and deliberately to hurt someone, physically or emotionally.
‘The Duchess of Sussex absolutely denies ever doing that.’
Valentine Low, a journalist from The Times that reported the details about the bullying allegations earlier in the year, categorically denied William knew of them and was complicit.

Peter Hall, former BBC Royal correspondent was among those who appeared on the programme

Both episodes featured Jenny Afia, the lawyer for the Sussexes of Schillings.
But he did say those who had spoken to him were ‘very glad’ that their stories were being made public and were ‘still in tears’ two-and-a-half years later because of their experiences working for Meghan.
He said: ‘Some were still psychologically traumatised. So something went badly wrong in those days.’
Mr Rajan himself suggested that unfavourable stories about Meghan were published because of a perception she didn’t ‘behave’ as a princess should.
‘There are plenty of reasons why negative stories are written about people in the press, and often that criticism is justified,’ he told the programme.
‘But some of the criticism levelled at Meghan arose from the feeling, the sense, in some quarters that this isn’t how our princesses are supposed to behave.’
Addressing the question of whether William had ever allowed aides to ‘brief’ the media about Harry’s mental health, Johnny Dymond, the BBC’s royal correspondent, said he had spoken to Kensington Palace, who made clear William was simply worried about his brother following his 2019 documentary with ITV’s Tom Bradby.
William is said to be upset that anyone suggested he might have condoned or encouraged this, despite his reputation for leading a long-standing effort to increase support for mental illness.
In fact it was Harry himself who first raised the suggestion in a 2019 television interview when he said he had experienced a resurgence of mental health issues that needed ‘constant management’.
At the time William was only reported to have been ‘concerned’ at the wellbeing of his brother and his wife, which was considered a natural and instinctive response to what he had just watched.
Meghan’s lawyer says Meghan has not bullied anyone in the BBC’s bombshell documentary. Meghan claims she never’repeatedly, deliberately hurt someone’. However, she added that she wouldn’t wish to diminish any individual’s experiences.
Meghan Markle’s lawyer tonight issued a technical and bizarre denial the Duchess had ever bullied staff – before insisting ‘But she wouldn’t want to negate anyone’s personal experiences.’
Schillings Jenny Afia was speaking on BBC 2’s The Princes and Press on claims she inflicted ’emotional cruelty’ on underlings and ‘drove them out’.
It was also reported that people with connections to the Sussexes or Cambridges were briefed on the other.
Amol Rajan was interviewed by Ms Afia, who claimed that the story contained’massive mistakes’ but did not elaborate further.
Instead, she offered her technical explanation for bullying.
She stated: “Massive, massive errors in this story.”
“The Duchess was accused of bullying. It is not.
‘I think that the first thing you should do, is define bullying.
“Bolliding” is when someone uses power to repeatedly and intentionally hurt another person physically or emotionally.
‘The Duchess of Sussex has absolutely denied doing that, that said she wouldn’t want to negate anyone’s personal experiences.’
Asked if she provided evidence proving that was not the case, she admitted: ‘It’s really hard to prove a negative. If you haven’t bullied someone how do you show that you haven’t. Just denying an allegation “I didn’t beat my wife” doesn’t address the underlying problem that the allegation has been made.’

Both Harry and Meghan have denied bullying via their lawyers on the BBC’s show.
It also covered the birth of Archie and sent out a press release confirming that the Duchess was pregnant.
In reality, she was already pregnant by this time. A picture of her baby would not be released until three days after his birth.
The Royal baby was in marked contrast with previous Royal babies, which saw photocalls outside the hospital.
Broadcaster Trevor Phillips said: ‘It became clear that they had not really grasped that in return for the fairytale you have to give the people outside the castle something, or they just decided they didn’t want to play the game.
‘The point at which you decide you’re not going to play the game, well don’t expect other people to play by the rules.’
MailOnline columnist Dan Wootton confirms that William and Harry had been told stories by sources.
He replied, “Well, it was uncomfortable. Because there was a lot briefing on the private lives both of the Duke and Dukes of Cambridge as well as the Duke and Dukes of Sussex.
“Very often by people who are connected with the other couple.”

Amol Rajan ended the program with a monologue, which did not accurately reflect the episode.
This episode had less detail than the previous and concluded with Amol Rajan’s monologue, which didn’t seem to be in line with the content.
He concluded the program by saying that both the monarchy, and media derive their power through the stories they tell.
These stories are what allow every generation of our monarchy’s emotional bond with the people to be renewed.
“The media are content, the monarchy gets consent”
Royal journalism is where the truth can be hard to find.
It comes a week after the first episode of the controversial documentary sparked a row between the BBC and the Royal Family.
After the BBC broadcasted accusations surrounding Meghan and Prince Harry’s exit from Britain, they were accused of giving legitimacy to ‘overblown claims and unfounded claims.
This controversial documentary has also been criticised as being biased against Prince William, Prince Charles and Prince Harry while portraying a favorable picture for Harry and Meghan.
Angela Levin (royal expert) said it was quite telling that the final interview for the corporation’s first episode was with Duchess Sussex’s British lawyer. While the Royal Family replied in writing, the Royal Family displayed a screen-readable response.
Jenny Afia Head of Legal at Schillings who represents Meghan I spoke with the Duchess of Cambridge.Bullying claims about the Duchess being made were “false” and she claimed that it was not possible to work well with the former Suits actress.
Omid Scobie (the royal journalist nicknamed ‘Meghan’s mouthpiece’) claimed minutes earlier that Omid Scobie had told Meghan and Harry about their briefings.
The royals were furious at not being able to respond to the claims in the program and threatened to boycott future BBC projects. This is after they refused to allow courtiers to see the episode before it aired.
In the joint statement to the show, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Clarence House last night said it was ‘disappointing’ that the broadcaster had given credibility to ‘overblown and unfounded claims’ surrounding Harry and Meghan’s departure from Britain.

As it broadcast an unflattering documentary about William (pictured July 2018, BBC) the BBC was accused.

Representatives for Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William made a strong statement to the BBC before last night’s broadcast.
The Palace A written statement was made with Prince Charles, Prince William, and Queen Elizabeth. It is understood that they are considering collectively complaining to Ofcom for first time in the history of the regulator.
It stated that a democratic society is only possible if there’s a free and accountable press.
“However overblown, unfounded claims made by unnamed sources are often presented as facts. This is why it is so disappointing that anyone (including the BBC) gives them credence.”
After hearing that the staff of Prince William had previously briefed journalists against Harry, Meghan and other royals, the BBC was forbidden from airing a concert to celebrate Christmas hosted by Kate. Instead the BBC offered the show to ITV.
Insiders suggest that the Christmas concert may be just the beginning.
ITV Insiders have confirmed they received the offer late last night and that they are still in negotiations with BBC Studios to pay a fee. BBC Studios is the corporation’s production arm.
One source said it was clear that William, who worked with the BBC over his Earthshot Prize but is protective of his staff and their reputations, would have to ‘seriously consider’ any further projects.


Dan Wootton spoke on the episode about his life, which was later known as Tiaragate. Jenny Afia from Schillings, who worked with the Duchess and was featured in this episode.
Episode 1 of The Princes and The Press analyzed media coverage about the young royals between 2012 and 2018, when Harry and Meghan were engaged.
The article also claimed that there was a ‘competitiveness between different royal families. Dan Wootton (then Sun reporter, now columnist at MailOnline) also talked about his Tiaragate article in November 2018 about the Duchess.
There were claims that Meghan was in a fight with royals over the choice of her tiara for her nuptials with Prince Harry. The Queen vetoed Meghan’s first option of an emerald-colored tiara.
It is said that Harry said, “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
Mr Wootton also discussed bullying claims Meghan’s employees made against her. These claims she refutes and are the subject of a palace investigation.
He declared:The news was not out for six months after the marriage, so even though people say that Harry and Meghan are getting the media attention they deserve, it took them six months. I disagree.
“These people were the ones who became annoyed long before it went public.
“At the time no national newspaper was brave enough to dive in to this vast war behind-the scenes.
“And that’s because no one from the royal rota was willing to tell that story.
“So, I had to take an outsider like myself to say “no, I’m not going to do it.”
Jenny Afia from Schillings, who is a Schillings lawyer, spoke to camera, and she denied that Meghan had been ‘difficult to work with’.
She replied, “Those stories were false.” It is simply not true that anyone can work alongside the Duchess. She was difficult and demanding of a boss.
According to the BBC, they provided a written memo outlining pertinent allegations but declined requests for an advance copy the two-hour-long episodes.