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Offensive comments removed from queen’s new Facebook page

Queen Elizabeth’s new Facebook page was a hit as soon as it was launched Monday. But it has stirred heated debate between from those supporting and opposing the monarchy, and moderators have removed dozens of offensive comments.
/ Source: TODAY staff and wire

Queen Elizabeth’s new Facebook page was a hit sensation from the moment it launched on Monday, with close to 160,000 people clicking that they “like” the page. But it has stirred a heated debate between pro- and anti-monarchy commenters, and moderators  have removed dozens of offensive comments in the day since the page went live.

“We have removed words that were either sexually explicit or used foul language, irrespective of the viewpoint,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman told TODAYshow.com. “It’s not a surprise [that the moderators needed to step in]. Everyone potentially faces this problem on Facebook, not only the British monarchy.”

While the page does not allow users to “friend” the queen or to send her messages, users are able to post comments on photos or news posts put up on the page.

On Tuesday morning, offensive or anti-monarchy comments were hard to find, and the majority of comments posted were positive, and in support of the queen’s latest foray into social media.

“The queen is the biggest benefit scrounger — estimated at £180m per year,” wrote Jon Bee, in one of the few anti-monarchy comments posted. “We should get rid of them. Why have an unelected head of state?”

“I do highly support the monarchy, and it is really nice to know that I am still joined by in excess of 100,000 people on face book in such a short amount of time,” wrote Matthew Dewhurst, echoing the sentiments of most commenters.

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The palace wouldn’t comment on whether the queen has actually viewed the page, or the many comments that have been left, merely commenting that the queen is aware that it exists.

Britain's royal family prides itself on keeping up to date with new technologies. The @BritishMonarchy account on Twitter has 74,300 followers, while the Royal Channel on YouTube has more than 33,000 subscribers. A royal Flickr account was also created this year.

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