British Council boss accused of attacking Prince George for 'white privilege' in Facebook post

Angela Gibbins, a senior employee at the British Council, is said to have criticised Prince George
Angela Gibbins/Linkedin
Hatty Collier26 July 2016

A senior employee at the British Council is under investigation after an angry attack on Prince George was posted on Facebook.

Angela Gibbins, director of global estates at the organisation which promotes Britain's culture, has been accused of posting unsavoury comments about the three-year-old Prince on social media.

The 52-year-old made the remarks beneath a photo meme, which criticised Prince George’s appearance and described him as “a f****** d***head,” according to The Sun.

The newspaper reported that, Ms Gibbins, from Walthamstow, north London, wrote: “White privilege. That cheeky grin is the innate knowledge he’s royal, rich, advantaged and will never know ANY difficulties or hardships in life.”

The Prince celebrated his third birthday on Friday.

New photographs of the Prince were released on Friday to celebrate his birthday 
Matt Porteous/Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Ms Gibbins' employer said the comment did not represent the views of the British Council and that it would be investigated as the “highest standards” are expected from staff.

Other Facebook users were said to be outraged by her comments with one describing her as “a total idiot”, while another said: “You need some time off the internet.”

Ms Gibbins is alleged to have responded: “I'm sound in my socialist, atheist and republican opinions.”

The British Council, whose patron is the Queen, works to promote UK culture in more than 100 countries and is sponsored by the Foreign Office.

It receives £154.9million of taxpayers' money each year – about 20 per cent of its total income.

Prince George - In pictures

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Prince Charles is its vice patron.

The council says its scope is to “connect millions of people with the UK through programmes and services in the English language, the arts, education and society.”

A British Council spokesman said: “This comment was made on a private social media account.

“It has absolutely no connection to the British Council and does not represent the views of the British Council.

“That said we expect the highest standards of our staff and we will be investigating the matter further.”

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