Royal Family Slams BBC's 'The Princes And The Press' Documentary: 'Disappointing'

The members of the royal family were not happy with the "unfounded" claims in the BBC's newest documentary about the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex, and they let the network know about it.

The BBC aired the first episode of the two-part "The Princes And The Press" program Monday. The show was presented by Amol Rajan and it explored the relationship of Prince William and Prince Harry with the press. It featured suggestions of royal sources briefing journalists behind the scenes.

Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace joined forces and released a statement shown at the end of the program where they criticized the claims in the documentary.

"A free, responsible and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy," the statement read according to Evening Standard. "However, too often it is overblown and unfounded claims from unnamed sources that are presented as facts and it is disappointing when anyone, including the BBC, gives them credibility."

The BBC responded to the royal statement telling BBC News that the purpose of the documentary was "about how royal journalism is done and features a range of journalists from broadcast and the newspaper industry."

BBC Two's program description also indicated that the special's intention was to "chart the years leading up to and including the engagement and marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex," per Us Weekly.

"Providing context for the princes’ relationship with the media, the film examines some of the illegal activities engaged in by some newspapers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including hacking and ‘blagging,’ and how these techniques were used to target members of the royal family and their associates," the network added.

Prince Harry's lawyer also responded to reports in 2018 about the Duchess of Sussex's alleged treatment to the palace staff and denied it. The documentary tapped the report from The Times newspaper in March claiming that Meghan Markle drove out two personal assistants and humiliated the staff on several occasions, which the duchess also denied.

"Those stories were false. This narrative that no one can work for the Duchess of Sussex, she was too difficult and demanding as a boss and everyone had to leave, it’s just not true," Jenny Afia told Rajan in the documentary. "Those stories were false. This narrative that no one can work for the Duchess of Sussex, she was too difficult and demanding as a boss and everyone had to leave, it’s just not true."

The second part of "The Princes And The Press" will air on Nov. 29.