Outrage as Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s partner compares King Charles’ coronation to Harry Potter in ‘deeply offensive social media posts’
- Matt Barret was accused of ’embarrassing’ his country in the Instagram posts
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s friend has sparked outrage after comparing Charles’ coronation to Harry Potter in “deeply offensive” social media posts.
Matt Barrett was accused of ’embarrassing’ his country in the posts on his private Instagram account during the historic service.
In a post, Mr Barrett posted a photo of a newly crowned Charles wearing the St. Edward’s Crown and compared it to the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter.
“Had really half expected it to shout Gryffindor,” he wrote.
A week after the event, Irish designer Paul Costelloe, who has ties to the royal family, condemned the social media posts as “deeply embarrassing” and “deeply offensive” to the Irish, according to The Telegraph.
Matt Barrett (right), friend of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar (centre) has sparked outrage after comparing Charles’s coronation to Harry Potter in “deeply offensive” social media posts
In a post, Mr Barrett posted a photo of a newly crowned Charles wearing the St. Edward’s Crown and compared it to the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter. “Had really half expected it to shout Gryffindor,” he wrote
The messages included a photo taken from the Taoiseach’s car as he sat in the VIP motorcade to the coronation ceremony, in which he wrote, “Holy s—, I think I have been crowned King of England by accident. ‘
While at Westminster Abbey, Dr Barrett also posted messages referring to the official Order of Service and mocking the wording.
One entry explained what happened between the Queen’s coronation and her accession to the throne, which would see her given regalia.
Mr Barrett quoted the liturgy, before adding the comment: ‘Sounds like the script for a good night, tbh.’
Mr Costelloe, who worked as a personal designer for Princess Diana from 1983 until her death in 1997, told the Sunday Independent that Dr. Barrett should publicly apologize.
Mr Barrett was accused of ’embarrassing’ his country in posts on his private Instagram account during the historic service
King Charles was crowned with St Edward’s Crown by the Archbishop of Canterbury
“They should have turned off their phones before going in and Leo should have told him to put his phone away,” he said.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent, he said: ‘For the people who live here it puts you in an embarrassing situation.
“I find it terribly difficult to come up with excuses for that kind of behavior. You can say it’s funny and everything, but you can’t do that kind of thing.’
Sinn Fein’s Prime Minister-designate for Northern Ireland, who was also invited to the ceremony, said ahead of the event that she intended to “build good relations between the people of these islands”.