Internet Divided Over Whether the Queen Offended By Delivering Poverty Speech In Front of Giant Gold Piano
It seems political observers have some mixed opinions about the optics of Queen Elizabeth II‘s Christmas speech to the United Kingdom.
The monarch used her address to urge the nation to embrace goodwill towards men, assist the poor, and to maintain civil discourse as they continue to debate the political proceedings of Brexit. The speech was recorded from the White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, so of course, people noticed that the remarks came while Her Majesty was surrounded by royal decadence.
One of the Drawing Room’s most luxurious furnishings is a golden piano that, according to Yahoo, has been a palace fixture since it was purchased by Queen Victoria. The piano has drawn a great deal of public attention over the last two days, so critics are pointing to it as a sign of how out of touch the royal family is with the rest of the U.K.
Privileged wealthy hereditary monarch bunged £76m a year, sitting in front of a golden piano in the palace she’s billing taxpayers £369m to tart up, kills satire by lecturing the nation to pull together https://t.co/28ft4GGL3q
— Kevin Maguire (@Kevin_Maguire) December 26, 2018
“So sad all those people going to foodbanks and sleeping on the streets. So to cheer them up I suggest we gather round my gold piano with a rendition of My Old Man’s a Dustman. That’ll take their mind off the cold and hunger for a while. Do you see how hard being Queen is now?” pic.twitter.com/k42Rt1PsJ8
— James Dornan SNP (@glasgowcathcart) December 26, 2018
The brooch is worth more than the piano. FYI. https://t.co/805NMz9cD2
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 26, 2018
Next year she should do it in a SOLID GOLD HAT. https://t.co/XrtInWDEKi
— Paul Lang (@rudemrlang) December 26, 2018
Hundreds of thousands of people are visiting food banks because they can’t afford to eat and 1 in 200 people are homeless. But it’s all good, cause the Queen is here to tell us to be nice in front of her golden bloody piano. ?♂️ https://t.co/yBxnVF4nMc
— Jessica Barnard (@CllrJessBarnard) December 25, 2018
The Queen will urge Britain to overcome “deeply held differences” as she sits near a golden piano that would feed and take the homeless off the streets for a year, a carriage clock that would fund a nurse for a year, all while Joe Public stumps up £360million to fix her castles https://t.co/KqhxXtWtMJ
— ken (@KenKenhall65) December 24, 2018
This photo looks like the Queen was talking shit about that golden piano and didn’t realize until just now it had walked into the room pic.twitter.com/xZmeUdCgqv
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) December 26, 2018
The Queen talking about self sacrifice in front of a massive golden piano there pic.twitter.com/pHUQ0zTkeE
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) December 25, 2018
Queen reminds us that poor people are having it tough as she sits in a room with a gold piano pic.twitter.com/GecohDQ8Zi
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) December 25, 2018
The most correct take in the golden piano debate is this:
Only arseholes watch the Queen’s speech
— Stuart Heritage (@stuheritage) December 26, 2018
On the other hand, some Twitter users are defending the queen, either by admiring the piano itself, or by saying its not really a surprise to see she’s well off as the sovereign of her country.
Oh no, they’re going to find out the Queen is a wealthy hereditary monarch https://t.co/bzo8y4Cmfp
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) December 26, 2018
She’s the Queen. She has many Palaces. And staff. And have you seen her crown?
She’s not ‘one of us’…and yet she brings us all together. https://t.co/1xLb8xa0ZA— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) December 26, 2018
She also had the temerity to broadcast from a palace. Who does she think she is? https://t.co/STYuh3yOba
— Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) December 26, 2018
“The Queen’s Piano” is the gritty London gangland sequel to The King’s Speech.”
Also, she’s the queen. Piano is a work of astounding craftsmanship and art. Lighten up. https://t.co/IuoKZI5mZl
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 26, 2018
Bold theory – the Queen deliberately put the gold piano in the back of shot to highlight income inequality in the modern UK, because she’s the ultimate champagne socialist
— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) December 26, 2018
either have a Queen or don’t (preferably don’t) but the weirdest of all possible worlds is the one where you have a Queen but insist that she be Woke about it or something https://t.co/n1TwAe579J
— Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) December 26, 2018
That’s obviously a gold harpsichord you ignorant plebs. https://t.co/LMVF2JWifA
— Paul ‘2019 will be worse’ Kidd (@paulkidd) December 26, 2018
Love the idea the Queen bought the piano during some wild shopping spree rather than, Oh I don’t know, maybe inherited it from Queen Victoria… https://t.co/6bfNYLoQaL
— Greg Jenner (@greg_jenner) December 26, 2018
People upset by Queen’s address in front of gold piano: were her multiple palaces and inherited wealth not already a clue that she might not be just like everyone else? pic.twitter.com/Ji3nQTk7xB
— Howard Sherman (@HESherman) December 26, 2018
What?! I thought the Queen lived in a tiny apartment with Ikea furniture! https://t.co/IzjEirX1Xw
— Kim Ghattas (@BBCKimGhattas) December 26, 2018
Watch above, via The Royal Family’s YouTube channel.
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