Days after issuing an apology to US President Donald Trump, the BBC has now apologised to the Princess of Wales for referring to her by her maiden name, Kate Middleton, during its live Armistice Day coverage.
The error occurred during the broadcaster’s November 11 telecast from the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, where India-origin BBC presenter Rajini Vaidyanathan used “Kate Middleton” while describing the royal’s appearance at the ceremony.
“We'll take you to the arboretum in Staffordshire, as we said there, Kate Middleton attending that ceremony. Let's have a listen in,” she said during the live segment. This remark was then quickly clipped and shared across social media platforms by viewers who pointed out the mistake.
Notably, Catherine has officially held the title “Princess of Wales” since the accession of King Charles III in 2022. While the public often continues to use “Kate Middleton,” the BBC acknowledged that the reference was inaccurate in the context of formal coverage.
In a statement, the broadcaster said, “During our coverage of memorials to commemorate Armistice Day we mistakenly referred to Catherine, Princess of Wales as Kate Middleton; these were errors during hours of live broadcasting for which we apologise. Throughout our Armistice Day coverage more broadly, we referred to Catherine by her correct title.”
{{/usCountry}}In a statement, the broadcaster said, “During our coverage of memorials to commemorate Armistice Day we mistakenly referred to Catherine, Princess of Wales as Kate Middleton; these were errors during hours of live broadcasting for which we apologise. Throughout our Armistice Day coverage more broadly, we referred to Catherine by her correct title.”
{{/usCountry}}(Also Read: Elon Musk reacts to Indian-origin BBC reporter’s old interview with Dalai Lama)
BBC apologises to Trump
The timing of the slip comes at a time when the BBC is already facing scrutiny after admitting last week that it made an “error of judgment” while editing footage of Donald Trump’s remarks ahead of the January 6 Capitol attack.
The edit, broadcast in a Panorama documentary, stitched together three clips from Trump’s speech, which the US President said created the false impression that he had incited the riot.
According to news agency Reuters, Trump labelled the edit “fake” and said that the BBC’s apology wasn’t enough. And despite the BBC’s apology, Trump stated he will sue the broadcaster for between $1 billion and $5 billion.
The BBC has said it had no plans to rebroadcast the documentary and was looking into fresh allegations about editing practices that included the speech on another programme, “Newsnight”.