It has been claimed that Queen Elizabeth backed Brexit.

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth

Although the 90-year-old royal is "politically neutral", BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg has alleged that the Queen told guests at a lunch some months ago that she wanted Britain to leave the European Union.

She claims the Queen said: "I don't see why we can't just get out. What's the problem?" and Kuenssberg said she did not run the story when she first heard it as she could not find a second source.

Speaking on Radio 4's 'Today show, she said: "In a casual chat with one of my contacts, they said, 'Do you know what? At some point this is going to come out, and I'm telling you now and I don't know if the BBC would touch it, but the Queen told people at a private lunch that she thinks that we should leave the EU.'

"Apparently at this lunch, she said 'I don't see why we can't just get out. What's the problem?'

"My jaw hit the floor. Very sadly, I only had one source. I spent the next few days trying to prove it. I couldn't find the evidence.

"Lo and behold, a couple of months later, someone else did. Of course, then ensued a huge row between that newspaper and the Palace over what had really been said or not said."

The Sun newspaper ran the story nine months ago and Buckingham Palace replied by launching a complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The palace said in a statement: "We can confirm that we have this morning written to the chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation to register a complaint about the front page story in today's Sun newspaper.

"The complaint relates to Clause 1 of the Editors' Code of Practice."

Clause 1 in the code relates to accuracy and states: "The press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text."


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