Matthew Wright is under fire after he branded the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations an ostentatious “disgrace” that should be scaled back amid the cost of living crisis.
The former ‘The Wright Stuff’ broadcaster, 56, sparked fury when he used an appearance on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ on Friday (03.06.22) to slate the cost of events organised to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne.
He said alongside royalist guest Gyles Branreth, 74: “We were talking earlier and it's wonderful and the spectacle I get, but at a time when people... we are haemorrhaging money as a country.
“If you were some kind of celebrity, who's spending loads... millions on parties when you're sort of bankrupt, people would be outraged and this is a disgrace but that's what we're doing as a nation.“
When host Dermot O'Leary, 49, asked Matthew: “What do you think we should be doing?”, the presenter replied: “I think it could all be scaled down just a bit.”
He also hit out at the four-day Jubilee celebrations being “funded by the public purse”.
Chancellor Rishi Sunk injected £28 million of taxpayers’ money into the celebrations, according to the March 2021 budget.
The Guardian has reported the jubilee weekend is expected to deliver a £6 billion-plus boost to high streets and hospitality businesses due to Britons and visitors taking advantage of the four-day break with street parties and days out.
Among the many viewers venting frustration at Matthew’s opinions on social was one who said on Twitter: “If you don’t want to celebrate the Queen’s incredible service and Platinum Jubilee, something that will probably never happen again, stay at home you killjoy.”
Another raged: “The rest of us want to meet and have a good time after 2 years of lockdowns #ThisMorning,” while a third said: “Omg shut up Matthew ffs we get it #Thismorning.”
Matthew’s comments came as Her Majesty, 96, said she was forced to pull out of attending the thanksgiving service in her honour at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday (03.06.22) after she experienced “discomfort”.
Buckingham Palace said the monarch was hit by pain on its balcony, where she appeared on Thursday (01.06.22) to wave to tens of thousands of cheering fans and watched a 70-strong aircraft flyover by the RAF and the Trooping of the Colour.
Despite hours later saying she was pulling out of today’s thanksgiving event, the Queen smiled on Thursday night as she lit a chain of more than 3,000 beacons that stretched across the UK and Commonwealth in tribute to her 70-year reign.
