TV Coverage of Prince Philip's Death Receives Most Complaints in TV History
TV Coverage of Prince Philip's Death Receives Most Complaints in TV History
The news emerged on Friday that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had passed away.
But the coverage of his death in the UK has been hugely controversial - and it's not hard to see why ...
Last week, it was annonced by Buckingham Palace that Prince Philip had passed away.
And the coverage of his passing has been a hot talking point ever since.
Now, the royal family is an important part of British culture.
The Brits are extremely proud that Queen Elizabeth is the longest-ruling monarch of the United Kingdom. Since her coronation on February 6th, 1952, she surpassed Queen Victoria's old record of sixty-three years on the throne in 2015.
Queen Elizabeth lived through the world war.
During WWII, she and her sister, Princess Margaret, were evacuated to Windsor to keep them safely out of London. While there, Elizabeth made her first public appearance by way of radio broadcast. She famously said, "that in the end, all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace."
This was when then Princess Elizabeth first became known to the public.
Here she is with her parents, sister, and the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill. Her good relationship with the public made way for the acceptance of Prince Phillip.
But when her father died in February of 1952...
Elizabeth, the King's first-born, automatically became the Queen of England. And this will be the case for Prince Charles with the current Queen unfortunately passes.
By June 2nd 1953, Queen Elizabeth had officially taken on the reigns.
She was crowned at Westminster Abbey at the meager age of twenty-seven. Charles was present at his mother's crowning; He was aged 4 at the time. Interestingly, Elizabeth's was the first coronation to be shown on television.
She wasn't ruling totally alone though, because Prince Philip was always by her side.
Elizabeth married Phillip Mountbatten (a distant relative of hers) on November 20th, 1947, when she was just twenty-one. She'd met Philip aged thirteen and the 2 quickly became totally smitten.
However, Philip wasn't an expected fit for the Queen.
But he quickly became a very important part of her life.
Queen Elizabeth was known for being more reserved and thoughtful, while Philip always had a reputation for being a bit bold and brash, resulting in a somewhat mixed reputation in high society.
But the pair continued to stand the test of time.
Soon after their marriage, they were required to take the last name of Windsor, which admittedly caused some tensions.
There have also been numerous public scandals, including rumors of Philip's infidelity.
But, despite all of this, the pair wasted no time in starting a family.
Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948, and is pictured of the left. Their second child, Anne, soon followed in 1950.
The Queen and Philip had a total of 4 children together...
And there's no denying how they have become one of the most admired and famous couples in the entire world.
But in more recent times...
Prince Philip was battling some repeated health conditions.
The royal underwent many surgeries in order to regain his health over the years.
Having previously dealt with complications such as a blocked coronary artery and a bladder infection just days before his ninety-second birthday, Prince Philip underwent exploratory abdominal surgery which he recovered from.
And in 2015, he retired from public engagements entirely after becoming the longest-standing royal consort in British history.
But soon after, he fell victim to another health issue which involved a hip replacement surgery and since then, he had been on a tragically rocky path.
Well, things seemed to take a turn for the worst for the ninety-nine-year-old royal.
On the evening of February 16th, Prince Philip was rushed to hospital after feeling "unwell."
The Sun reported that the royal would be spending "a few days" there.
But it was also reported that he was in "good spirits" after being taken to the King Edward VII Hospital in London.
The Duke made a brief recovery...
But since then, things were quick to get worse.
His health deteriorated rapidly...
And on Friday, we received the news we were all dreading.
It was confirmed that Prince Phillip had tragically passed away aged ninety-nine.
He will be greatly missed by all those who know and love the royal family.
It was then confirmed the Queen had entered an 8-day period of mourning.
It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2021
His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/XOIDQqlFPn
During which she will step away from any duties. Laws will not be given the Royal Assent and affairs of state will also be paused.
More details surrounding Philip's death later emerged.
#BREAKING Gun salutes fired across UK and at sea for Prince Philip pic.twitter.com/3oQ5yLGEJr
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 10, 2021
It's been reported that the Queen was with him at the very end - by his bedside.
It's also claimed that he died suddenly.
Gun Salutes are taking place at The Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle, Cardiff Castle, Hillsborough Castle and overseas to mark the passing of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The Armed Forces are immensely proud of their close relationship with Prince Philip. pic.twitter.com/sUdi0vmuch
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 10, 2021
And that despite his very old age, his death was still unexpected.
The specifics have not yet been revealed.
Since the UK is in 8 days of mourning for the loss of Prince Philip let us during this time also mourn the loss of the many thousands of people in this pandemic. Real people not statistics who did good in this world. Let’s unite in mourning them all & show their families we care.
— Dr Nisreen Alwan 🌻 (@Dr2NisreenAlwan) April 10, 2021
However it's believed that Philip's condition worsened over Thursday night before his passing.
The Telegraph reported that the Prince wanted to die in his own bed.
Just posted by the @RoyalFamily
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) April 10, 2021
with the Queen’s words from 1997:
“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.” pic.twitter.com/TqJCEiG8mM
He also reportedly wanted to die "on his own terms"...
The Prince's funeral plans have since been announced.
Prince Philip’s funeral on 17 April will “celebrate and reflect” a life of service after eight days of national mourning, Buckingham Palace sayshttps://t.co/gZyrHEsnTb
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) April 10, 2021
His funeral will take place on Saturday and it will be televised to mark the Duke's "vast contribution and lasting legacy."
Members of the public will not be allowed to attend.
Prince Philip’s funeral will take place April 17 at Windsor Castle in a family service that will be closed to the public, via @AP https://t.co/989qtv3QNr
— Bloomberg (@business) April 10, 2021
As proceedings have been scaled down due to the pandemic. However, a national minute's silence will be held at 3 pm before the funeral begins at St George's Chapel.
The proceedings will be kept within Windsor Castle and the Prince's body will be carried to the West Steps in a Land Rover, which was designed by Philip himself.
But it's now been confirmed that the BBC coverage of his death received 110,994 complaints, making the coverage the most complained-about event in British TV history.
The reason? The wall-to-wall coverage on all BBC channels meant every other TV favorite was canceled.
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