BBC demotes Royal Family members on 'death list'

A BBC list which contains details of the coverage that will be given to the deaths of major public figures, has reportedly been leaked.

Four people are still listed in Category 1 - the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Prince William. In the event of their deaths, programmes on BBC1, BBC2 and the BBC News Channel will be interrupted for an official announcement.

However, Category 2 has been abolished, downgrading the coverage given to other senior Royals and public figures, reports the Mail on Sunday.

Princess Anne, the Countess of Wessex and Princes Harry, Andrew and Edward, who were formerly on the Category 2 list, are now listed as 'other notables' alongside the likes of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Tory leader David Cameron and US President Barack Obama.

The deaths of public figures in this category, which also includes Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan and Nelson Mandela, will be covered as 'major breaking news stories with coverage on merit'.

Details of the changes to procedure were sent to all senior BBC news staff, reports the paper.