[imagesource: Getty Images]

It’s evident from the outpouring of grief across Britain, following the death of Prince Philip on April 9, that the Royal Family holds a special place in the hearts of many.

However, don’t mess with your regular TV programming schedule, because the people will revolt.

The BBC received in excess of 110 000 complaints following its extensive coverage of Philip’s death, reports The Washington Post, with people furious over “changes to scheduled programming and “excessive” reporting on his life and legacy”.

That makes the coverage the most-complained-about event in the country’s television history, surpassing the uproar following the 2005 screening of the controversial musical Jerry Springer: The Opera.

That time around, viewers were horrified by scenes showing dancers dressed as Ku Klux Klan members, and a showdown between Satan and Jesus, who was wearing a diaper at the time.

Back to Philip and the complaints:

Following the news of his death, the BBC revised its schedule to make way for tributes, pulling popular television shows such as “Gardeners’ World” and postponing the “MasterChef” final.

The BBC defended its coverage, saying it was “proud of the role we play during moments of national significance.”

…the BBC’s decision to dedicate so much airtime to royal programming angered “MasterChef” fans, who had been looking forward to seeing who would be crowned winner of the popular cooking competition.

Gardener’s World – how wonderfully British.

The complaints were so frequent that a specialised form was set up to deal with them:

The BBC, having adopted wall-to-wall Prince Philip coverage to avoid being criticised in parts of the media and politics…. has now received so many complaints about their wall-to-wall coverage they’ve set up a streamlined form to complain about it. https://t.co/jgOqU5e51N

— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) April 9, 2021

Ratings of the wall-to-wall coverage following news of Philip’s death also showed a decrease from previous weeks.

Before we go, in case you missed the funeral this past Saturday, Sky News shared some ‘key moments’ from St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle:

[sources:washpost&skynews]