Documentary branding Queen Camilla a 'wicked stepmother' panned as 'needlessly tacky' and a 'ranty mess' by critics

A caller documentary which branded Queen Camilla arsenic a 'wicked stepmother' has been slammed arsenic 'tedious', 'needlessly tacky' and 'dull'.

Critics person blasted the programme, which aired past nighttime connected Channel 4 and spoke to journalists and insiders astir the royal's past - arsenic good arsenic her reportedly fraught narration with Prince Harry.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, past twelvemonth seemed to aboveground familial tensions erstwhile he, speaking successful an interrogation with Anderson Cooper to beforehand his memoir, described Camilla arsenic 'dangerous' and a 'villain'. 

He said: 'She was the villain, she was a 3rd idiosyncratic successful the marriage, she needed to rehabilitate her image.

'That made her unsafe due to the fact that of the connections that she was forging wrong the British Press.

'And determination was unfastened willingness connected some sides to commercialized accusation and with a household built connected hierarchy, and with her connected the mode to being Queen Consort, determination was going to beryllium radical oregon bodies near successful the thoroughfare due to the fact that of that.'

However, hours later, Prince Harry told Good Morning America that helium does not presumption Queen Camilla arsenic an 'evil stepmother'.

The documentary, titled Queen Camilla: The Wicked Stepmother?, successful a synopsis questions: 'How did Camilla Parker Bowles ascend from astir hated pistillate successful Britain to Queen Camilla, nationalist treasure? And was her translation astatine Prince Harry's expense?'

However, with two-star ratings crossed the committee from large critics, it was poorly received, mostly for rehashing aged worldly with small caller insights, and doing truthful successful a 'tacky' way.

The Guardian found the programme 'tedious' and 'flimsy', claiming that determination was nary existent request for the documentary to air.

Elsewhere, The Times branded Channel 4's offering arsenic a 'ranty mess' that 'doesn't service anyone'. 

The Telegraph's Arts and Entertainment Editor meantime said that the movie was a 'needlessly tacky deep-dive' into Camilla's past.

It was successful September reported that Channel 4 was set to aerial a documentary about Camilla which paints the royal successful a antagonistic light.

According to the Sun, the movie - said to beryllium titled Camilla: Harry's 'Wicked' Stepmother? - was to represent the 77-year-old arsenic the 'wicked mother' of Prince Harry and posit that Camilla spent immoderate three-decades creating a affirmative image, but that the precocious Queen Elizabeth II never wanted her to beryllium connected the throne.

According to unnamed sources, the documentary's broadcast was delayed aft King Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis.

Because of his illness, it was feared the anti-Camilla documentary could person caused a backlash, the sources were reported arsenic saying.

They added that Channel 4 was alert that the documentary is 'going to origin superior waves', and that galore people, peculiarly astatine Buckingham Palace, 'aren’t going to similar it'. 

Reports claimed that documentary producers reached retired to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to contribute.

MailOnline reached retired to representatives of the mates for remark astatine the time.   

A Channel 4 spokesperson successful September told MailOnline that the documentary 'will beryllium looking astatine Camilla’s biography and inheritance arsenic she is present the queen'.

THE GUARDIAN 

Rating:

Lucy Mangan of the Guardian slammed Channel 4's 'tedious' and 'flimsy' show, which simply treads implicit the aforesaid facts that adjacent the astir 'uninterested of america person absorbed by osmosis implicit the years'.

The TV professional said she couldn't spot who the viewing was really for, oregon 'why anyone thought it was necessary'.

She posited that it's apt conscionable 'cheap' to 'sweeping the cutting country level and enactment scraps of things unneurotic to marque a caller programme that is arsenic aged arsenic time'.

Lucy besides explained that adjacent though the past 20 minutes tackle 'Harry's animus towards his stepmother', the absorption does small to marque the amusement consciousness relevant. 

'Does anyone truly attraction astir a documentary charting Camilla's emergence from jolly schoolgirl to Diana's nemesis, past queen?' she questioned.

THE TIMES

Rating:

The Times has branded Channel 4's offering arsenic a 'ranty mess' that 'doesn't service anyone'. 

Deputy TV Editor Ben Dowell said that 'it wanted to deflate the Queen's balloon but alternatively fell level connected its ain face', rehashing aged accusation viewers are each excessively utilized to seeing.

He added that portion Prince Harry's 'apparent content that Camilla drove Palace briefings' seemed to beryllium the driving unit down the aboriginal questions raised astir her 'wickedness', adjacent that struggled to beryllium held up.

'As astir of the existent hacks told this programme, that reasoning demonstrated a somewhat dim grasp of however quality stories originate,' helium concluded.

'While 1 tin sympathise with Harry... this was a ranty messiness that didn't service anyone.'

THE TELEGRAPH

Rating:

The Telegraph's Arts and Entertainment Editor branded the programme a 'needlessly tacky deep-dive' into Camilla's past.

And while, Anita Singh writes, astir of the contributors were connected the Queen's 'side', they inactive spoke astir her successful 'tacky' terms.

Despite criticising the repetitive quality of the lore described successful the documentary, the writer said determination was immoderate absorbing accusation offered by journalists.

However, overall, Anita felt the amusement felt arsenic if it was lone commissioned 'to capable space'.