Alastair Campbell has revealed how Huw Edwards prepared for the event of announcing the Queen’s death on the news, including ‘rehearsing in front of his bathroom mirror’.
On Thursday September 8, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died at the age of 76 after being cared for by doctors at her Balmoral estate.
Edwards shared the breaking news on BBC News, having already been seen wearing a black tie earlier in the day when providing updates on the monarch’s health.
Having received high praise for his coverage, Edwards is said to have been preparing for this moment ‘for some time’, broadcaster Campbell shared.
In a tweet shared on Friday morning, Campbell wrote that Edwards ‘told me a few months ago he had been preparing, practising and even rehearsing in front of his bathroom mirror for this moment for some time.
‘He said too that the Queen’s death would be the biggest challenge to @BBCNews in its history.’
In a second tweet, Campbell admitted that as he’s currently out of the country, he hadn’t seen much of the BBC News coverage of the Queen’s death.
However, he was informed that Edwards had been ‘absolutely brilliant’, as he added: ‘Which should surprise nobody.’
While Edwards has been commended for the way he reported on the Queen’s death, GB News presenter Alastair Stewart was highly critical of the fact the BBC News journalist wore a black tie before the Queen’s death was confirmed.
‘A back tie now is pre-emptive and misjudged. It is because of the BBC’s Sissons memory [sic],’ he tweeted.
When someone suggested that ‘it may be difficult to get a black tie on quickly’, Stewart responded: ‘We have all rehearsed it, so many times. There is a built-in natural pause to make the appropriate changes.’
The Queen’s death has prompted several events to be cancelled, including the Last Night of the Proms and the Mercury Prize 2022 awards ceremony.
Celebrities including Sir Elton John, Harry Styles, Dame Helen Mirren and Daniel Craig have been paying tribute, as members of the royal family enter a mourning period of seven days following the Queen’s funeral.
