Stacey Solomon has set the record straight insisting she has nothing against the Royal Family after an old clip resurfaced in which she said she “doesn’t get the obsession” with them went viral following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The TV star, 32, faced a backlash from fans over the historic remarks, which were made during an appearance on Loose Women in 2018 - four years before the Queen died on September 8, 2022.
In a new interview with The Guardian, she explained how it was hard to see the clip do the rounds on TikTok a week before the Queen’s funeral as she “didn’t say it on the Queen’s passing”.
“I have nothing against the monarchy and the Queen seemed like a lovely lady, but I don’t understand why we pay a contribution to one of the wealthiest families in the world,” she told the publication.
The mum-of-four went on to further explain the point that she had been trying to make in the original discussion on the ITV panel show, saying: “Some of our kids weren’t even getting school lunches, and to know a huge amount of money is going to somebody who doesn’t need it, I just couldn’t get my head around that.’
“I don’t know why they can’t exist just as a cool famous family. Why do they have to be head of anything and have that monetary contribution?”
In the clip, which was reshared by a fan on TikTok, Solomon could be seen getting into a debate with her co-hosts Jane Moore, Linda Robson and Christine Lampard about the UK’s fixation with the Royals.
“I don’t get why we’re so obsessed with these humans that are exactly the same,” she said after being frustrated over a discussion about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who were dominating headlines at the time.
She explained: “I’m probably gonna be of the opinion of nobody else in the entire world but I just don’t get it [the Royal Family]. I don’t get any of it.”
Gesturing to the rest of the Loose Women panel, she continued: “Like, it could be us four sitting there.”
Moore then put in: “For me, they’re becoming celebrities.” To which, Solomon quickly replied: “That’s all they are.”
“The Queen is brilliant,” defended Moore. “But for what?” questioned Solomon. “For duty, responsibility,” the journalist argued.
“She’s always worked really hard hasn’t she,” added Robson.
‘But I would work really hard if the whole country paid for me to have like, 12 houses and work really hard,” Solomon - who recently married partner Joe Swash - hit back.
“They don’t pay for all the houses, Moore said. “We contribute about £39m a year. It costs £300m a year to run the Royal Family.
“But I’m with you. After the Queen, I’d have them all on bicycles and living in a terraced house. But I love the Queen, I think she’s fantastic,” she added.
Solomon then emphasised how the money spent on the Royal Family could be re-directed for more philanthropic purposes, such as homelessness.
She said: “It’s freezing cold outside and people are homeless and these people [the Royals] have like houses to spare.
“It does sometimes become a little bit frustrating because I don’t see the purpose of all of that money going to this one entire family.”
