Jeremy Corbyn discusses Royal Family size in 2019

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The former Labour leader was forced to delete a tweet he posted last Friday, 40 minutes after the announcement of Prince Philip’s passing. As the sad news emerged, Mr Corbyn posted a link to an event inviting people to “support the Bolivian people”. His tweet read: “The people of Bolivia have chosen a path of social change, which puts people and planet before private. Join me, @BoliviaFriends and Bolivian speakers on April 19th to show our solidarity.”

This resulted in criticism, and led to Mr Corbyn deleting the tweet before posting a tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.

His next tweet said: “Losing a loved one, as so many families have this past year, is always heartbreaking.

“My thoughts are with Prince Philip’s family and all who loved him.”

Mr Corbyn is a well-known critic of the monarchy, and he even called for the Royal Family to be scaled back in 2019.

Asked if he thought it was too big, Mr Corbyn told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “Well I think there’s a lot of people attached to the Royal Family.”

When asked what improvements he would make to the monarchy, the Labour leader cited “the size of the family and all that they do”.

His comments came during the 2019 general election campaign, and senior Tory figures hit out at his claims.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab thought the suggestion of scaling back the Royal Family was “crazy”.

He added: “We need to be respecting the institution of the monarchy and if Jeremy Corbyn is saying he wants to cut the number of the Royal Family he should come out and say who he wants to cut.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier in the general election campaign that the Royal Family was “beyond reproach”, before later clarifying that he was referring specifically to the Queen.

Prior to Mr Corbyn’s election as Labour leader in 2015, he had said that he would like the UK to be a republic, but given the royals’ popularity, “it’s not a battle that I am fighting”.

In November 2015, Mr Corbyn was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council, but refused to kneel before the Queen – as is tradition.

He took part in the Buckingham Palace ceremony to become a member of the ceremonial body, which enables him to receive confidential security briefings.

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Labour said Mr Corbyn complied with the usual processes, which tend to involve kneeling on a stool before kissing the Queen’s hand.

But it is understood Buckingham Palace does not force Privy Council members to do things they are not comfortable with and that Mr Corbyn did not kneel.

Speaking to ITV News before the ceremony, the left-wing politician signalled he would not be kneeling, adding: “I don’t expect to be kneeling at all, no. I expect to be nominated to the Privy Council and that’s it.”

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