Kirstie Allsopp faced a backlash as she backed King Charles III over a recent Clarence House redundancy row.
The TV presenter was blasted for her 'terrible take' and dubbed 'pathetic', as she lent her support to the nation's new Head of State following reports dozens of Clarence House staff have been given notice of redundancies, as the offices of King Charles III and the Queen Consort move to Buckingham Palace.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week, up to 100 employees at the King’s former official residence have reportedly received notification that they could lose their jobs - as they work long hours to ensure the monarch's elevation to the throne runs as smoothly as possible.
The decision to notify private secretaries, the finance office, the communications team and household staff about the fact they possibly face losing their jobs before the Queen's upcoming funeral has even taken place sparked outrage online - with many horrified at the decision.
Kirstie, however, took to Twitter on Wednesday [September 14] to offer some nuance to the debate, telling her followers: "Supposedly it’s totally wrong for Clarence House to send letters saying 'regretfully there will be some redundancies but we’ll do all we can to help' before the funeral.
"But it’s OK to have a go at the actual person that has lost his actual Mum for doing so. Good to know."
Journalist Harry Wallop was one of the many Twitter users to respond to the Location, Location, Location presenter's divisive take, telling her: "Oh, come on Kirstie. It was terrible. Terrible PR, terrible employment practice, terrible on every level.
"Sure, they may have to be some redundancies – but they should have waited until after the funeral. Would a fortnight's wait have made any difference?"
Kirstie - who claimed she was quitting Twitter last year - hit back, replying: "Not according to an expert in the field who tweeted me, she said it’s the law to informed people as soon as you know there is likely to be a change in their employment status."
Other Twitter users agreed with Harry, with one tweeting: "I think it's incredibly heartless so soon after HM death. The staff will be mourning too. This could have waited for another week couldn't it?"
"We're all expected to put our lives on hold - hold our tongues, show respect, funerals, operations and medical appointments cancelled, shops all closed - but sacking all your staff is ok. The timing of that's A-OK, everything else has to wait," another mused, as the debate rumbled on.
One Republican tweeter was particularly savage in their reply to Kirstie, declaring: "Yet another pathetic non-neutral sycophant,@KirstieMAllsopp, who isn’t fit to present on our nation’s TV. #NotMyKing."
The Guardian reported on Tuesday [September 13] how many of King Charles III's staff received notice that their jobs were at risk during the thanksgiving service for the Queen, at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday.
One source said: "Everybody is absolutely livid, including private secretaries and the senior team. All the staff have been working late every night since Thursday, to be met with this. People were visibly shaken by it."
Kirstie continued to back King Charles III on Twitter after her initial tweet on Wednesday, telling one fan who asked if the notices could have been sent later this month: "Not legally no, and they haven’t received redundancy notices they’ve been told the Clarence House will be wound down, this will not come as a surprise to anyone, the new Wales’s moved to Windsor before The Queen died."
Amid the backlash, some of Kirstie's followers agreed with the presenter, with one writing: "From what I can gather, they are following good HR practice, but informing people as soon as possible, giving them maximum warning of possible changes. That this is necessitated by a death with all that entails is an added layer of anxiety."
Another declared: "I don’t wish redundancy on anyone but the staff will have known their roles were time limited until Charles became King."
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