Gayle King has sparked a sexism row after she questioned why Princess Anne was in the ceremonial royal procession at Prince Philip’s funeral, which apparently broke with tradition.
The 66-year-old TV presenter led the coverage of the funeral on Saturday for CBS in the United States.
She angered viewers as she asked Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown why the Princess Royal was the only woman to be walking behind the Duke of Edinburgh’s casket, when pictures from the private funeral were beamed around the world.
As a customised Defender Land Rover carried Prince Philip to St George’s Chapel, Anne was the only female walking behind, alongside her brother Prince Charles.
(Image: WPA Pool/Getty Images)
It is traditionally men that follow the casket during royal funeral processions, but the Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002 also saw Princess Anne walking behind at her grandmother.
The funeral on Saturday saw Anne and Charles walking ahead of Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
One irate viewer tweeted: “Gayle asked Tina Brown why Anne was in the funeral procession with the men? Uh, Princess Anne is Prince Philip’s only daughter!”
Another added: “I don’t see why she was surprised. Princess Anne even walked for the Queen Mother funeral procession.
“And I find it disrespectful of her to even question. Princess Anne was his only daughter. Of course she was going to do that.”
(Image: CBS News)
A third viewer hit out, tweeting: “If I were Princess Anne, I would sue Gayle King for being a sexist.”
Prince Harry and Prince William were brought together for the first time since the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Meghan Markle spilled the beans about her time with the Royal Family.
Some viewers were unhappy that Gayle was anchoring the proceedings for TV, as she is a friend of Meghan and defended her interview with Oprah.
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She brought up the fallout since the interview she said to Tina Brown that “the family drama” would have the world speculating as William and Harry are reunited and she then tried to interpret the body language between the previously ‘warring’ brothers.
Gayle said: “William and Harry, there’s no secret about this, have had a strained relationship you could say since Harry stepped away from his royal duties.”
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Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/gayle-king-sparks-sexism-row-23942130