The BBC has brushed off accusations that its coverage of King Charles III’s upcoming coronation has been lacking in impartiality.
In a letter shared with The Guardian, the campaign group Republic – which has called for the abolition of the monarchy in favour of an “an elected, democratic head of state” – claimed the BBC has made “no attempt to be impartial or balanced” in its coverage in the lead up to the event next month.
Pointing out that recent YouGov statistics commissioned by Republic indicate that “only 15% of the public are enthusiastic about the coronation”, the group claimed the national broadcaster is catering to “a shrinking minority of people”.
“It should be a source of deep shame for all those involved that, instead of such fearless reporting, we have insipid, vacuous and dishonest coverage from a BBC that is fearful of public opprobrium and palace influence,” Republic’s letter said.
“The result of the BBC’s failures is that the coverage serves the interests of a shrinking minority who could reasonably be called royalists. In doing so, they do a disservice to the whole nation.”
A spokesperson for the BBC told HuffPost UK: “We believe our reporting is fair and duly impartial, and BBC News always seeks to reflect a range of viewpoints in our Royal coverage.”
Similarly, last year the BBC was accused by some of showing bias in favour of the monarchy with its coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Responding to viewers who made complaints about the coverage, a post on the corporation’s website said: “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.”