Fans call royals 'hypocrites' over statement against new BBC documentary

Fans of Meghan Markle criticised the royals for not defending her against bullying allegations, yet they were quick to issue a statement against the BBC over its documentary "The Princes and the Press."

The two-part BBC Two special explores brothers Prince William and Harry's relationship with the media. According to Entertainment Daily, it also covers the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's relationship, their respective marriages, and their tours while they were both still senior royals. It has royal experts taking part in interviews including "Finding Freedom" author Omid Scobie and Camilla Tominey.

But the British royals are said to be unhappy with the production and urged viewers not to believe everything it contains. While they acknowledged that "a free, responsible and open press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy," they also warned against believing facts based on "unfounded claims."

"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," reads the statement that aired on TV after the first episode aired.

The family's quick response to the BBC documentary drew criticism from followers who questioned why they were silent when Meghan Markle was accused of bullying palace aids. One netizen wrote, "Could they not have made this statement when Meghan was being vilified?"

Another added, "Not one statement in defence of Meghan when defamatory articles with unnamed sources were being printed about her every day for years..."

"Statements to defend themselves= n^a . Statements to defend Meghan from misogynist, racist and overall lies= 0. Statements to defend Archie (a newborn!)= 0. And sorry but democracy and royal in the same paragraph is laughable," one more noted.

Another fan of Meghan Markle said that if only the royals "had issued just ONE statement when Meghan was being brutalised by the press quoting unnamed sauces," then perhaps people would have been sympathetic towards them following the release of the BBC documentary. The fan claimed that "by issuing this statement now, they've made it crystal clear they never cared about Meghan." It is unclear who released the statement on behalf of the royal family as it did not have a letterhead.