As the United Kingdom prepares to foot the bill for King Charles' Coronation, many stars have been taking advantage of the supposed jubilant mood sweeping the nation - cashing in with Instagram adverts flogging tatt to their fans looking to throw a Corrie Nash bash at home.
But Stacey Solomon, whose wholesome brand is ideal for brands looking to shift some Union Jack paraphernalia, has been ignoring the state-funded celebration of a man whose personal wealth is an estimated £1.8bn.
When Queen Elizabeth died last year, royalists got their knickers in a twist over an old clip of Stacey discussing the fact an entire nation has no choice but pay for palaces and pomp as millions struggle to make ends meet.
“I don’t get why we’re so obsessed with these humans that are exactly the same, it could be us sitting there,” Stacey mused during a debate on Loose Women back in 2018.
“It’s freezing cold outside, and people are homeless, and these people have houses to spare, and it does sometimes become a little bit frustrating because I don’t see the purpose of all that money going to this entire family.”
The Sort Your Life Out presenter went on to discuss the resurfaced clip in September last year, telling The Guardian how she “has 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 added.
“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.”
The mum-of-five, 33, went on to sensibly suggest that a new system could be implemented which would allow British taxpayers to choose if they want their money to go towards King Charles and his family or to another cause.
“It would be cool if there was an opt-in opt-out version and you can opt to give it to somebody else,” the DIY guru mused.
Stacey is sadly only one of the few celebrities brave enough to stick their head above the parapet and ever so politely suggest the concept of the British Royal Family is outdated in the 21st century, particularly during a cost of living crisis.
King Charles inherited over £300m (tax-free) when his mother passed away, yet his subjects - many of which are choosing between heating or eating - are the ones having to pay for his £100 million work party this weekend.
It shouldn’t be deemed so controversial to suggest we could perhaps change how we fund one family’s lavish lifestyle.
But having a regional accent, coupled with the fact she was once a teenage mother, made Stacey an easy target for snobs looking to mock the former X Factor contestant for simply sharing her opinion last year.
Hardcore royalists would rather take aim at a young woman who seems perfectly pleasant for daring to have a different opinion to them, rather than maybe take a step back and examine why so many people are sickened by the concept of monarchy.
I hope Stacey’s iconic 2018 ‘rant’ does resurface once again on social media this weekend and prompts a few more people to take a second to really consider what exactly the country is celebrating this weekend.
But whether it does or not, Stacey still needs praise for being one of the only high-profile celebrities with the balls to tell Britain it’s time to ‘Sort Your Life Out’ when it comes to paying for the Royal Family.
