Why the BBC interviewed Prince William and asked nothing about Andrew and Epstein
Prince William has appeared on the BBC, amid Royal controversy concerning Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but not been asked anything about the matter. Should we demand more of the Royals, and the national broadcaster?
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In brief…
- Prince William has offered “generic” mental health advice in a new BBC Radio 1 interview, but The News Agents question both the Royal and the broadcaster for offering such a cosy appearance in the midst of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
- Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel say the Royals are happy to leak stories to the press about their concern for Epstein survivors and victims, but refuse to speak openly about the situation.
- The BBC says William’s appearance was not part of BBC News, but content from his Radio 1 appearance has been used in TV and online news.
What’s the story?
“Learn to love yourself”. “We need more male role models”. “Check in with yourself”.
This is advice from Prince William about dealing with mental health issues, given to BBC Radio 1 in a new episode of its Life Hacks programme.
His words on the matter are "generic," says Emily Maitlis, but it's not what William said on the programme that's an issue here – it's what he didn't say, or wasn't asked.
William appeared on the show, aimed at 16-24 year olds, at a time when the Royal Family is under more scrutiny than ever before.
New allegations about Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein emerged in a recent release of documents relating to the convicted sex offender.
"If Prince William is offered to appear on your programme, it's pretty hard to turn him down," Emily says.
"He's the future monarch, and he's talking about really important issues."
"It's understandable that William wants to talk about mental health and prioritise that, but it is really hard to calculate what happened in that conversation where a producer has Andrew's nephew sitting here and not asking about Epstein, or talk about mental health in relation to the victims."
Prince William and Princess Catherine recently issued a statement saying their thoughts were with survivors of Epstein’s abuse, and Emily says if that was the case, they should speak about these concerns in public.
"Why wouldn't they want to say that out loud? Why wouldn't they want to engage in that conversation for people to hear that they care about this," Emily adds.
Why would the Royals avoid talking about Andrew?
Jon Sopel says it appears all Royal concern for Epstein survivors and victims is being shared through off-record sources, placing positive news stories in the media.
"This stuff is being dripped out, presumably by a Palace press officer or friend of the Prince, or maybe even the Prince himself," Jon says.
"It seems that the Royal Family are happy to let people know their feelings about Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, but God forbid they should ever say it out loud."
Emily says some people might say it's "wonderful" to have a Royal speak about mental health issues in a public forum, but is that what he did here?
"He didn't open up about his feelings," she says.
"He said it's really important to talk about mental health – yeah, nobody's going to disagree with that.
"It doesn't take us anywhere intimate or anywhere that is sort of in any way revelatory – and maybe that's the point."
She believes once the Royals start an open and honest conversation about their true thoughts and feelings, beyond bland platitudes, they can never put the genie back in the bottle.
"Once you open the door, it has changed forever," Emily adds.
"You can't then say in the next interview you've talked about Andrew, and don't want to talk about him again."
She says due to the Andrew revelations the public are now demanding more from the Royals, and how they respond is "absolutely critical".
Only appearing for soft, cosy media appearances may no longer cut it.
"There has to be a tacit contract between the public, and the Royal Family," Jon says.
"If that breaks, then the monarchy ceases to exist."
"This is such a moment now with Andrew, where I'm not sure it is good enough to issue off the record briefings saying, the Royals are 'concerned' about him – but not addressing it in public."
Why would the BBC avoid asking about Andrew?
Jon says the BBC, and other broadcasters, will be “wrestling” with how close a relationship they can have with the palace considering the allegations against Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
The panel discussion Prince William appeared on was hosted by Radio 1 presenter Greg James, who is not a journalist.
"It was for the Radio 1 strand Life Hacks – not for a news programme," said a spokesperson for the BBC.
"As is standard, the BBC has editorial control."
But the Prince’s comments have appeared across BBC News output online and in TV news broadcasts, blurring the lines between news and entertainment output.
"At no time does the BBC address the Andrew question, and there's no way a serving politician would be allowed to go on the radio and not answer a question about the central issue of the day," Jon says.