TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said comments made by his partner Matt Barrett to a group of 350 private followers on his Instagram account relating to the coronation of King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla, were disrespectful to the Royal family.

It has been suggested by some that Matt Barrett should apologise to the British monarchy for the series of messages he posted while he attended the coronation with Varadkar, which have entered the public realm.

“Yeah, look, Matt’s a private individual, my partner for over seven years now, and it was some private messages sent to some friends on his private account. You know, he never intended them to go public, but that happens sometimes,” the Taoiseach told reporters in Limerick.

The comments were first reported last Saturday in Miriam Lord’s column in The Irish Times, and have since been reported by the British media. 

Barrett joked, according to the columnist, that he thought he had been “accidentally crowned king of England” while travelling to the coronation in the Taoiseach’s motorcade, and later likened a photo of King Charles wearing his crown to the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter books.

The Daily Mail reported that the remarks had “caused outrage” while The Guardian’s headline said there were “red faces in Ireland over coronation quips” and quoted Irish designer Paul Costelloe, who told The Sunday Independent that the comments were “embarrassing”.

On reflection, poor judgment on my part. Unreservedly apologise for any offence caused. https://t.co/XRegskoLjx

— Matthew Barrett (@GaothSaileDoc) May 15, 2023

Barrett has since apologised for the comments, tweeting: “On reflection, poor judgment on my part. Unreservedly apologise for any offence caused.”

Varadkar said he had addressed Barrett about the matter, and he was confident it would not happen again: “We’ve spoken about it and I think it’s fair to say it won’t happen again.”

Asked by reporters if he believed the messages were inappropriate, the Taoiseach replied: “Ah look, he’s (Barrett) a private individual, and that’s obviously up to him. But like I say, (it was) a private account, it was never intended to be shared publicly, and I don’t think we’re going to see a repeat of it.”

When asked if he felt the messages were irreverent, Varadkar replied: “Yeah, I think ‘irreverent’ would be fair comment.”

When asked if Barrett should apologise, or if he felt embarrassed by reports that the messages were posted from Barrett’s account while he was present in the Taoiseach’s VIP motorcade and in Westminster Abbey where attendees were ordered to turn off their mobile phones, Varadkar replied: “Well, look, I think I’ve answered that question.”