Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has described the Queen and the monarchy as 'an absurd concept', in the run-up to the Platinum Jubilee.
In a tweet apparently nailing his colours to the republican mast, the former QPR, Manchester City and England midfielder said he 'just don't get this Queen/Monarchy thing'.
Barton, who is originally from Merseyside, is no stranger to giving his philosophical thoughts on everything from politics to Nietzsche , and even once appeared on BBC Question Time in 2014.
So his tweet about the monarchy and the Queen is not exactly out of character for a man who once appeared in a Morrissey video and was appointed an honorary associate of the National Secular Society after he said that if he were Prime Minister he would cut any public funding from religion and disestablish the Church of England from the UK state.
Taking to Twitter just two days before the four-day Jubilee weekend, Barton said: "Just don't get this Queen/Monarchy thing. An absurd concept in the 2022AD," before helpfully adding the year in Roman numerals.
"Even more absurd considering we class ourselves as a free and democratic country. Ah well, Rule Britannia and all that..." before ending his tweet with two Union flag emojis either side of a Queen emoji and then a confused emoji.
Barton is currently enjoying the post-season break after leading his Rovers team to promotion into League One, secured in the final minutes of the season with an astonishing 7-0 victory over Scunthorpe United.
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