LONDON -- It's not every day you hear the internal thoughts of a two-year-old prince imagined by a 61-year-old journalist.
Anyone tuning in to the BBC to watch Princess Charlotte's christening on Sunday was subject to that bemusing experience, when the broadcaster's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell decided to narrate Prince George's inner monologue.
"Why is that man in a suit following me," said Witchell, "and why are all these people staring and waving?" It was all a little bit strange.
Nicholas Witchell, a 61-year old BBC correspondent, narrating a toddler's internal monologue... https://t.co/SrtxqwDBqi— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) July 5, 2015
Unsurprisingly, Twitter had a few things to say about Witchell's reporting technique, which was captured in this Vine.
@BeardedGenius Bizarre thing for a professional reporter to do, before you even get into why it made the cut for the news.— Lydia Bleasdale-Hill (@Parkendlydia) July 5, 2015
@BeardedGenius it's like a really shit version of Peep Show!— Graham Love (@GLove39) July 5, 2015
Imagine being 2 years old and having Nicholas Witchell ad lib your nonexistent inner monologue.— [⋅.⋅ ] ( °_°) (@sleepwalkingdog) July 5, 2015
Nicholas Witchell seems to have mind reading qualities when it comes to #PrinceGeorge— Sue Reeve (@mrsverypicky) July 5, 2015
BBC makes best of a bad job by dubbing confused ramblings of its royal correspondent over footage of Prince George https://t.co/9x08sPSrAm— Rat Fascal (@MrPSB) July 6, 2015
Still, it would be sort of hard to be a royal reporter, wouldn't it? Whether it's the birth of a royal baby or waiting outside the palace for something to happen, there are always long, empty patches of silence to fill. Maybe inner monologues are the way forward. Maybe in 10 years' time everyone will be congratulating Witchell on his pioneering technique. Maybe.