Palace lays complaint over 'Queen Backs Brexit' headline

Buckingham Palace laid a formal complaint with the press watchdog on Wednesday, over an article in this morning's The Sun newspaper claiming the Queen backed Brexit.

The Sun quoted anonymous sources as describing an exchange between Her Majesty and then-deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at a lunch in 2011, where the Queen "reprimanded" Clegg for his pro-EU stance.

It also claimed the Queen revealed her feelings about Europe during another conversation with MPs at Buckingham Palace some years ago, where it quoted her as saying "I don't understand Europe".

Following the formal complaint, The Sun said it "stands by our story, which was based upon two impeccable sources and presented in a robust, accessible fashion. The Sun will defend this complaint vigorously".

A spokesman at the palace confirmed that they had written to the chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation to register a complaint about the front page, with reference to clause one of the Editors' Code of Practice.

That clause said the press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.