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Buckingham Palace Files Former Complaint Against ‘The Sun’ For Saying Queen Supports EU Exit

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 12:17 PST, Mar 11, 2016

Queen Elizabeth is angry enough that she is having Buckingham Palace file a formal complaint against The Sun for misstating her stand on whether or not the U.K. should exit the European Union. The Sun has stated that Queen Elizabeth supports the split, but she claims that she has never publicly expressed this opinion. It is unclear how Queen Elizabeth feels (several news agencies are supposing that Queen Elizabeth is behind the exit), but The Sun said that the Queen made a statement to that fact.

This is not the first time that Queen Elizabeth seemed out of step with the people of the U.K. Making the situation more about what she thinks or doesn’t think is not the question, but instead of making it about what is best for the U.K., Queen Elizabeth is having the palace go after a news agency. The Inquisitr reported that the palace has recently launched the #CleanfortheQueen campaign, which called on citizens of the U.K. to clean up their neighborhoods for the Queen’s birthday. Citizens took to Twitter to call on the Queen to have her “useless relatives” get started on the cleaning project. The snarky comments continued, and many were quite funny.

The New York Times is reporting that the palace has filed an official complaint against The Sun, Britain’s biggest tabloid, for reporting that Queen Elizabeth is supporting the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. A referendum on whether or not the U.K. should leave the EU will take place on June 23, and David Cameron has been pushing for a vote. Cameron wants the U.K. to remain in the EU.

The Sun cited anonymous sources that said that Queen Elizabeth was skeptical of the EU, and made her feelings known. The paper claimed that the Queen had made statements to that effect at least two times, but did not give specific dates, or the names of those who heard her statements. The palace made it clear that Queen Elizabeth would not publicly make a statement.

“The queen remains politically neutral, as she has for 63 years.”

The spokesman for the Queen also said that it is not for her to decide, but it is for the British people.

“We will not comment on spurious, anonymously sourced claims. The referendum is a matter for the British people to decide.”

The spokesman for Queen Elizabeth and the royal family says that this complaint against The Sun is the first with this new regulator. This complaint was against the “Editors Code of Practice.”

“The press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.”

But The Sun stands by what they printed, and says that their sources, considering that they were quoting Queen Elizabeth, were impeccable. Nigel Clegg called the quotes, that they claim he overheard, as preposterous.

But rather than claiming that Queen Elizabeth is neutral, Fortune is saying that the Queen supports David Cameron, and thinks that the U.K. should stay in the EU. Buckingham Palace dismisses the “spurious claims” that the Queen would back an exit from The EU. They says that the Queen has been neutral for all 63 years of her reign, and she will continue. Queen Elizabeth has chosen not to make a public statement either way.

Fortune said that The Sun also printed a comment that said that Queen Elizabeth “didn’t understand Europe” which was a foundation for her saying that the U.K. should leave the EU. The Sun is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who allegedly does not think that the U.K. should be in the European Union, which, to some, explains the allegedly contrived quotes.

Do you think that the Queen holds and shares political opinions, or is she as neutral as the palace claims?

[Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images]

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