Big riot in Sweden! Journalist Hana Al-Khamri claims that Swedish Radio has removed a critical question about King Carl Gustaf from the radio program at the last moment. There was even talk of censorship.
It was just a question about Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf, 76, that journalist Hana Al-Khamri asked during a radio broadcast on August 11, 2022. But shortly before the broadcast, the position is said to have been canceled by an editor – contrary to prior agreement. Al-Khamri now claims this – and expresses his surprise on Instagram at this program intervention. Swedish media describe the procedure as “worrying”.
Sweden Royals: Was a journalist’s critical king question deliberately censored?
Every day at 1 p.m. sharp, the Swedish radio station Sveriges Radio P1 broadcasts an episode of the program “Sommar” throughout the summer. The speakers, known as “summer speakers”, are selected and invited by the broadcaster and are responsible for the respective day. They introduce themselves, talk about freely chosen topics and play music they have chosen. On August 11, the author, lecturer and journalist Hana Al-Khamri, who grew up in Saudi Arabia, was to speak for an hour and a half – with consequences …
“At the last moment, against my will, Swedish radio removed the following question from the program: ‘How is it that both King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and King Salman bin Saud of Saudi Arabia were opposed to the introduction of female succession?'” , Hana Al-Khamri writes in a long statement on Instagram on August 19, 2022. She wants to explain herself, wants to make the alleged intervention by Swedish Radio (SR) public.
Hana Al-Khamri protested against censorship – without success
According to Al-Khamri, the SR had “objected to this formulation early on”. First, “Sveriges Radio” is said to have given Al-Khamri the promise to broadcast the question, albeit with objections and with the involvement of the in-house chief lawyer. Then the editor in charge seemed too hot at the last moment: just a day and a half before the radio show was broadcast, the journalist was said to have been told that the passage had been cut out, as she continues to write on Instagram. Hana Al-Khamri protested, but the show ran without her royal question.
The journalist was “surprised by the publicist’s decision” and did not understand why the broadcaster was so concerned. For her, who grew up in a dictatorship in which her “articles on sensitive topics were rejected due to state censorship”, “this type of intervention is of enormous importance”. In fact, it is well documented that Princess Victoria’s father, 45, was opposed to a female succession to the throne, explained Al-Khamri and provided relevant sources.
Loving moments between Princess Victoria and Estelle
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Carl Gustaf wanted Prince Carl Philip as heir to the throne
If Carl Gustaf had had his way, the royal family would actually look very different today. Prince Carl Philip, 43, – and then his eldest son Prince Alexander, 6, – would succeed him to the throne. Victoria would be just a princess and in Sweden, “Carl Philip Day” would be celebrated every 13th of May.
The fact that this did not happen is due to the cognatic succession to the throne, which was introduced in Sweden in 1980, recalls the Swedish newspaper Expressen. Now the eldest child, regardless of gender, would inherit the line of succession. Carl Gustaf was opposed to the change in the law at the time and wanted his son Carl Philip to succeed him to the throne. He explained this to Vestmanlands Läns Tidning just a few days after the birth of Carl Philips in 1979.
They coo in love at the concert evening on Borgholm
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“Sveriges Radio” criticizes Al-Khamri’s statement – other media are concerned
Marie Jeanette Löfgren, editor-in-chief of “Sveriges Radio”, defends Carl Philip and explains to “Expressen” that Hana Al-Khamri’s comparison is not entirely accurate: “The king said in interviews that he prefers a man on the throne, but wouldn’t mind a woman.” In Saudi Arabia, the country is ruled with almost unlimited power, with female succession never being an issue. There the monarch has practically unlimited power, in contrast to Sweden “where the king has no power”.
The online portal “Dagens Arena” classifies the broadcaster’s decision as “worrying”: “This is such a classic censorship,” it says. Meanwhile, Al-Khamri hopes to “get answers as to whether the SR did the right thing or made a journalistic mistake,” as she concludes on Instagram.
Source used: Dana Press, instagram.com, expressen.se, vlt.se