A veteran broadcaster believes Prince William “hates” one royal custom and will make many changes when he becomes King. David Dimbleby, 87, spoke out ahead of his three-part documentary airing on the BBC.
Mr Dimbleby has covered dozens of royal events, including the funerals of Princess Diana in 1997 and Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the upcoming programme is called ‘What’s the Monarchy For?’. The broadcaster spoke about what was “out of date” with the times.
He said “I don’t understand why people, particularly with the late Queen, were so flummoxed when they met her – men curtseying, people forgetting what to say and all that.
“I don’t like the obsequiousness. I don’t like that at all. Incidentally, a view which I think William shares, from what I hear. The bowing and scraping element is quite out of date and ridiculous, and the pomposity of the court, which still exists a bit, is absurd.”
He told the Telegraph: “I’m pro-monarchy if it suits the spirit of the times. I’m not pro-flamboyant monarchy of the Disneyland type. I’m not pro the argument that it brings in American tourists, that’s one of the worst arguments of all.”
He also claimed, “There is a ‘growing tide’ of people, particularly young people, who are no longer in favour of a monarchy.”
The presenter explained: “I don’t think we’re going to be a republic any time soon, but I’m not saying that I think a republic would be worse than a monarchy. I think if it could be devised in a way that was acceptable, it might be as good.”
On balance, he thinks that a “carefully constructed form of monarchy” under King William is “the likely option, and a perfectly good option if it works”.
Mr Dimbleby also criticised the Royal Family’s “antiquated” privileges, including not being required to pay tax legally.
William recently admitted that he has big plans in store for when it is his time to take over the throne.
Prince William recently opened up to actor Eugene Levy, the host of Apple TV+’s The Reluctant Traveler, about his plans to modernise the monarchy when he becomes King.
Discussing the future with Eugene, William said: “I think it’s safe to say that change is on my agenda. Change for good.” William, however, did not go into detail about the changes he has planned.
The BBC series comes following polls that show how public support for the Royal Family dipped slightly after the latest news about Andrew emerged.
What’s the Monarchy For? begins on Tuesday at 9pm on BBC One.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
