by conflicting stories, which later became the subject matter of a British documentary, Death of a Princess. The film was scheduled to show on 9 April 1980 on the ITV television network and then a month later on the public television network PBS in the United States. Both broadcasts were met with livid protests followed by strong diplomatic, economic and political pressure from the Saudis to cancel these broadcasts. After having failed to get the British broadcast cancelled, King Khalid expelled the British ambassador from Saudi Arabia. In May 1980, attention then shifted to PBS where their officials endured a month of mounting pressure from corporations and politicians. A major PBS sponsor, the Mobil Oil Corporation, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times op-ed page opposing the film and declaring it jeopardized U.S.-Saudi relations. After some stalling, it was eventually broadcast by the PBS program World in most of the US on 12 May 1980, although some PBS stations did not do so. For example, in South Carolina, the PBS affiliate cancelled broadcast of the film, a decision influenced by fact that the then US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, John C. West, had formerly been the state's governor. The docudrama was aired in the United States as part of a weekly PBS program called "World". That program later became known as PBS Frontline. Death Of A Princess aired again on Frontline in 2005, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original broadcast. King Khalid was said to have offered $11 million to the network to suppress the film. According to director Antony Thomas, there was no trial or official execution: David Fanning, co-writer and executive producer of Death of a Princess, added: See also Executions in Saudi Arabia 2011 Saudi Arabian protests Dina Ali Lasloom Sara bint Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Samar Badawi Hamza Kashgari Manal al-Sharif References External links Princess executed for eloping Article in The Observer, 22 January 1978 Mishaal Mishaal 1958 births 1977 deaths Mishaal Mishaal Mishaal People executed by Saudi Arabia by firearm People executed for adultery Mishaal