Historian Who Claims Rishi Sunak Is Not ‘Grounded In Our Culture’ Gets Much-Needed Reality Check

Historian David Starkey has caused alarm after claiming that prime minister Rishi Sunak is “not fully grounded in our culture” in the UK.

Speaking to GB News on Thursday morning as part of the channel’s coronation coverage, Starkey somehow managed to take aim at the PM, the country’s first leader of colour.

The concerning remark came after host Andrew Pierce said: “The prime minister now has been, in my mind, detached or at least semi-detached, from this coronation.”

Sat outside Buckingham Palace, Starkey said: “Invisible. And I think one of the reasons that I think a lot has gone wrong, for example, why parliament has not been properly represented at the coronation of a parliamentary monarchy, is because the government isn’t interested in the constitution.”

Only a minority of MPs have been invited to the ceremony on Saturday, according to reports.

Starkey, who has been embroiled in racism controversies in the past. continued: “The prime minister, the man of immense power, of extraordinary skill, but really, not fully grounded in our culture.

“I know that’s a difficult and controversial thing to say, but I think it’s true.

“And, again, this coronation is going to highlight, far too much our differences.”

He said this was a reference to religion – Charles, as the monarch, is the head of the Church of England, and Christianity is traditionally a large part of the coronation, while Sunak practises Hinduism.

Starkey does not mention that the King has repeatedly spoken about always protecting the variety of faiths in the UK.

Sunak will be reading a passage from the Bible during the coronation too, with a spokesperson from Lambeth Palace saying: “There is no issue about [Sunak’s] personal faith, we’re delighted that he is doing [this].” 

It’s also worth remembering that the PM has spent most of his life in the UK,  having been born in Southampton in 1980.

He went to England’s oldest public school Winchester College where he became head boy before attending Oxford University – the very same institution where 29 other PMs were educated.

Although GB News deleted the tweet sharing Starkey’s remarks within an hour, it did not slip under Twitter’s radar – and people were quick to call out the historian.