'Absolutely atrocious': Queen under fire for 'tone-deaf' post

Queen Elizabeth has come under fire after the British royal family’s official Instagram page shared a post celebrating her coronation anniversary while ignoring the call for a social media ‘blackout’ in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

The Queen was crowned on 2 June, 1953, with this her 67th year on the throne, however, as protests and riots rage over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in the US, the celebratory post has been slammed as ‘tone-deaf’ by royal watchers.

George Floyd’s death sparks mass Black Lives Matter protests

The protests have dominated headlines since US man George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin who knelt on his neck for eight minutes, eventually suffocating him, despite Mr Floyd repeatedly telling the officer he ‘couldn’t breath’.

Derek Chauvin has since been charged with murder, and protesters are calling on the other police present who failed to intervene to face the same charges.

On Tuesday, supporters were called on to post nothing but a black square and refrain from sharing unrelated material to social media in solidarity with the protesters.

‘Stop posting’: Royal watchers slam coronation post

The royal family’s decision to post therefore was met with fury by many British citizens supporting the protests, particularly as they point out the Instagram page has yet to acknowledge the movement.

“I love the royal family but this is so tone-deaf...” one woman wrote on the photo.

“You only care about yourself during a time where protests are ongoing worldwide to fight oppression,” another wrote. “Absolutely atrocious.”

“Either post in support of black lives matter or stop posting,” another demanded.

“I love the Royals but have some sense of awareness,” another wrote.

Some came to the monarch’s defence, arguing that her Commonwealth Trust had shared their support for the movement on Twitter.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is run by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who are the president and vice-president respectively.

Queen Elizabeth is patron of the trust.

On Twitter, the organisation shared a tweet hashtagged ‘Black Lives Matter’, a very active choice for the normally apolitical royals.

Some argued the statement showed the Queen’s support even if the royal family’s official pages have yet to participate in the movement or coverage.

Kensington Royal has yet to recognise the movement online, neither Clarence House, the house of Charles and Camilla.

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