The partner of Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Taoiseach, has sparked outrage over a post mocking King Charles’s Coronation. Matt Barrett compared last week’s service to a scene from Harry Potter in a post on his private Instagram account during the ceremony last week. The comments have since been condemned as “highly insulting” and Mr Barret has been accused of “embarrassing” his country.
Mr Barrett posted a photo of Charles wearing the St Edward’s Crown after he was formally crowned during the service at Westminster Abbey.
But he compared it to the Sorting Hat scene in the Harry Potter films, which sees witches and wizards assigned which houses they will be in. The Taoiseach’s partner wrote: “Was genuinely half expecting it to shout ‘GRYFFINDOR’.”
Another photo taken from inside Mr Varadkar’s motorcade on the way to the Coronation ceremony said: “Holy s***, I think I’m accidentally crowned King of England.”
In yet another blow he made reference to the Order of Service by mocking the wording, and wrote: “Sounds like the script to a good night, tbh.”
Irish designer Paul Costello, who has links to the Royal Family after designing outfits for Princess Diana from 1983 until her death in 1997, has now slammed the posts.
He condemned the posts as “highly insulting” and “very embarrassing” for the Irish.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent he said: “For people living over here, it puts you in a very embarrassing situation.
“I think it’s terribly hard to make excuses for that sort of behaviour. You can say it’s amusing and all, but you can’t do that type of thing.
“You have to be so careful over here. There is still this ‘Irish-English’ thing and they love finding something.”
Mr Costello added that the couple “should have turned their phones off” before entering the Abbey.
The Coronation was the first time an Irish leader was present for the crowning of a British Monarch since the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838.
Leaders from across the world attended the Coronation, including Michelle O’Neill who said she would be attending with the intention to build “good relations between the people of these islands”.
Others included Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, US First Lasy Jil Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
