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King Charles III: Councillor explains Kill the King song use

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King Charles
Image caption,

King Charles III had his Coronation on 6 May

A councillor said a Facebook post which featured lyrics to a song called Kill the King was not intended to be anti-monarchy.

The song by rock band Rainbow appeared on Dave Jones' personal Facebook account along with a photo of Conwy Castle five days after King Charles III was crowned.

However, he said it was a reference to Edward I and not the current monarch.

Facebook automatically added the offensive lyrics, the councillor said.

The Glyn-y-Marl ward Labour councillor's post read: "Kill the King, Tear Him Down, Kill the King, yeah, Strike him Down."

It was shared on Twitter by an angry constituent, who tagged Labour leader Keir Starmer in the tweet, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But Mr Jones defended the post, insisting it was not referencing King Charles III, but Edward I, who reigned between 1272 and 1307.

He explained: "I've got a councillor page, which is usually information, but this was my personal Facebook page.

"I think most people know King Edward built this castle to help rule over north and mid-Wales, hence my use of the song Kill the King, which is a medieval-type soundtrack.

"So it has nothing to do with our present King Charles III.

"When I posted this yesterday, which was May 11, King Charles was never in my mind.

"The only thing that was in my mind was that it was a lovely picture of Conwy Castle and that Conwy Castle was built by Edward I."

A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council said: "The post has been made by the councillor in his personal capacity and is not linked to Conwy County Borough Council in any way."