The campaign group Republic has accused the BBC of a lack of impartiality in its coverage before the coronation of King Charles, accusing the broadcaster of failing to hold the monarchy to account.
In a letter to David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial and policy standards, the Republic chief executive, Graham Smith, said the complaint was “particularly urgent in light of the forthcoming coronation”.
The campaign group says a recent poll it commissioned shows that as few as 15% of British people are enthusiastic about the coronation, and it accuses the BBC of serving “a shrinking minority of people”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We believe our reporting is fair and duly impartial, and BBC News always seeks to reflect a range of viewpoints in our Royal coverage.”
The broadcaster believes the coronation to be an event of historical significance and for many audiences in the UK and globally an occasion to celebrate.
Asking Jordan for a meeting, Republic accuses the BBC of failing “to give voice to a reasonable balance of views on the issue”.
The letter adds: “The evidence suggests the BBC not only fails to be impartial, but makes no attempt to be impartial or balanced and, most shockingly, openly colludes with the palace in its coverage.”
“It should be a source of deep shame for all those involved that, instead of such fearless reporting, we have insipid, vacuous and dishonest coverage from a BBC that is fearful of public opprobrium and palace influence.”
Smith said: “The result of the BBC’s failures is that the coverage serves the interests of a shrinking minority who could reasonably be called royalists. In doing so, they do a disservice to the whole nation.
“A recent YouGov poll showed only 15% of the public are enthusiastic about the coronation, with a majority not interested. The BBC’s coverage will suggest the opposite is true.
“Support for abolition of the monarchy has climbed over 30% and support for the monarchy among people under 40 has dropped below 50%. Yet none of that is reflected in the BBC’s coverage.
“BBC news programmes have made no attempt to engage with the organised opposition or to tackle the serious questions surrounding the royals.”
The BBC faced similar complaints from campaigners after its coverage of the late Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee and its coverage of her death.
Anti-monarchy campaigners plan to protest on the day of the coronation.
