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Forced to Mourn?
The response of British broadcast media to the death of Prince Philip.
When the death of the Duke of Edinburgh was announced yesterday (9 April 2021) the BBC immediately switched into mourning mode. A newscaster changed into a black suit in a live broadcast, whilst continuing to voice over a prepared video clip. The BBC Radio dance music broadcast switched mid-track into the national anthem. The broadcasting schedule across the entire network was changed, to a rolling broadcast on all channels of hagiography and interviews with pundits over the Prince’s contribution to British and international society over the past 70 years. As a result, the BBC has received so many complaints about what they’ve done that they had to set up a separate webpage and system just to handle them all.
This is similar to the last major royal death — Process Diana. When that was announced, not only did the TV schedules get similarly overridden but even pubs, cinemas, restaurants and some shops closed. A period of national mourning was thus forced on the public, whether they felt affected or were indifferent to the news.
It might not surprise some readers that in the UK as with other countries across the globe, you need a license from the government in order to perform certain activities, such as driving on the public highway or owning a firearm.
