BBC vows to ‘re-evaluate’ role of monarchy with new David Dimbleby documentary
The BBC is to “re-evaluate” the role of the monarchy in modern British life in a new documentary promising “scrutiny”, after it received complaints over its Royal coverage.
David Dimbleby is to present a three-part series on the institution, aiming to offer a “fresh appraisal of an old institution”.
The documentary makers claim it will explore the monarchy’s “power, wealth and public role”, questioning how the institution “may evolve” and “explore what today’s monarchy tells us about modern Britain”.
It will be written with insight from “insiders”, programme-makers say, and Dimbleby will interview a range of age groups to hear public opinion.
Quoting Queen Elizabeth II as he announced the new series, Dimbleby said: “It was the late Queen herself who said back in 1992 ‘No institution – City, Monarchy, whatever – should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don’t’.
“I have often thought about that comment and it’s a challenge I look forward to taking up.”
It is understood that programme-makers have approached Buckingham Palace for access, but are in the earliest stages of agreeing contributors. No filming has yet been agreed.
It is rare that television cameras are allowed special access to Royal engagements, and even rarer for members of the Royal family to give interviews, but requests are said to be dealt with on the basis that the institution has “nothing to hide”.
Simon Young, BBC head of history, said: “As one reign ends and a new one takes shape, I can think of no better time to re-evaluate the role of the monarchy in modern British life.
“And with David having been there at many of the key moments in recent royal history, witnessing at first hand the critical relationship between the monarchy and the public, there is no better broadcaster to present it.”
The tone of the series is set to be markedly different from recent BBC coverage.
A Boxing Day documentary about the King’s coronation received 900 complaints from the public. The corporation conceded that those viewers “felt the tone of the programme was overly positive.”
Defending the one-off programme, it said: “The BBC seeks to reflect a range of viewpoints in news and current affairs coverage of the monarchy.”
The BBC also received a record number of complaints for its coverage of the death of Prince Philip, with nearly 111,000 people contacting the broadcaster. Most of the complaints were about the extent of the coverage, across multiple channels.
The new series, provisionally called Dimbleby on the Monarchy, will broadcast on BBC One and offer a decidedly different tone.
Announcing the programme, which is yet to be filmed and is expected to be broadcast in 2025, the BBC promises Dimbleby will “examine how the monarchy works, delivering a fresh appraisal of an old institution as it embarks on a new chapter in its history”.
“He’ll explore its power, wealth and public role and he’ll ask - as we look toward the future – how the institution may evolve,” said a spokesman.
“Talking both to insiders and to the public young and old he will explore what today’s monarchy tells us about modern Britain.”
Dimbleby, like his father before him, has been in place for the major Royal moments across decades. He provided commentary for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, while Richard Dimbleby anchored her coronation in 1953, and the funeral of her father, George VI, in 1952.
Jonathan Dimbleby, his brother, wrote the 1994 biography of the then Prince Charles and accompanying television interview in which he famously admitted to infidelity, by saying he had been faithful to Diana, Princess of Wales “until [the marriage] became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried”.
Dimbleby on the Monarchy, three one-hour episodes, will be made by The Garden, part of ITV Studios.
