BBC Responds To Complaints From Viewers Who Felt Coverage Of Queen's Death Showed 'Bias'

The BBC's coverage was accused of being "biased in favour of the monarchy" by some viewers.
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Queen Elizabeth II pictured in 2017
Chris Jackson via Getty Images

The BBC has issued a response to complaints from viewers who felt that its coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s death was “biased”.

After the death of the Queen on 8 September, the national broadcaster made a number of significant changes to its schedule, which included rolling news coverage devoted to the late monarch in the immediate aftermath.

It has since been revealed that the corporation received a number of complaints about the tone of its coverage of both Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III’s accession had leaned too much in favour of the monarchy.

On the complaints website for the BBC, it said it had “received complaints from people who felt our coverage… has been biased in favour of the monarchy, and should have featured more republican viewpoints”.

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Broadcasting House, the BBC's London headquarters
Mike Kemp via Getty Images

In response, a statement read: “Our coverage of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has reflected the strength of feeling this has generated from across the country and around the world;  we have featured tributes from world leaders, politicians from across the political spectrum and members of the public. 

“It is important that our reporting includes a range of perspectives, so we have also heard from those who do not believe in the institution of monarchy, their reasons for this, and their views on the accession of the King Charles. We have offered detailed analysis on what this transition means for the future of the monarchy.

“We believe our reporting has been fair and duly impartial, reflecting the impact Queen Elizabeth II has had on public life and the historic nature of the end of the reign of the longest serving monarch in British history.”

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Huw Edwards broke the news of Queen Elizabeth's death to BBC viewers
BBC

Following her death earlier this month, the Queen was laid to rest on Monday, with the BBC devoting much of the day’s schedule to coverage of the state funeral.

Director-general Tim Davie later insisted that the BBC would be looking at “lessons to be learned” from its coverage of Prince Philip’s death.