The BBC only broadcast a defaced newspaper clipping of Prince William for a second or two, but it was long enough for the angry tweets and Facebook posts to start pouring in. The network has now apologized for the blunder, however, so hopefully that will work to stop the social media backlash.

Prince William, Jerudong Polo Trophy
The drawing might have detracted slightly from William's princely demeanor.

The picture of the Duke of Cambridge, with phallic graffiti scrawled onto it was part of a promo for a new comedy quartet called Barbershopera. While BBC editors somehow managed to miss the few seconds of footage, they did not slip past the keen eyes of viewers, and prompted some to vent their righteous anger over Twitter.

"Wow bbc breakfast just showed a picture of prince William with a penis drawn on his head," tweeted Andreas Vesalius. 

Prince William, Wedding, St Michael's Church
Twitter was not amused.

Whether it was Twitter users’ highly observant coverage of the event or just simple damage control, the BBC later issued a statement apologizing for the gaffe. According to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the corporation said: "This image was shown fleetingly within a comedy promotional video for Barbershopera, a humorous barbershop group, who were appearing later on in the programme. The material was provided by Barbershopera but we failed to spot the offending material within it. We apologise for this.”

The episode of BBC Breakfast will not be available on iPlayer, but in case viewers are looking for something to spark their rightful indignation, stills of the graffiti are already flooding the internet.

Prince William, Wedding, St Michael's Church
The Beeb was quick to apologise.