Ben Fogle criticises ‘mean-spirited’ people who mocked call for Britons to sing for the Queen

TV presenter’s idea has been compared to Gal Gadot’s star-studded coronavirus singalong video, which viewers labelled ‘out-of-touch’

Ben Fogle has hit out at “mean-spirited” responses to his call for Britons to sing “Happy Birthday” in unison out of their windows for the Queen.

Earlier this morning (16 April), the TV presenter attempted to launch a “Sing for the Queen” campaign on Twitter, suggesting that the nation unites to wish Her Majesty a happy 94th birthday.

“It’s the Queen’s birthday next Tuesday,” Fogle wrote. “Let’s throw her a surprise. At 9am 21st April, we are calling on the whole country to sing Happy Birthday from our windows and doorsteps.

“Let our song bring good cheer not just to Her Majesty but to the whole nation #singforthequeen”

Fogle’s call went down like a lead balloon, however, with many mocking the suggestion in his Twitter mentions.

“Posh people are weird,” one person replied. Another added: “I’ll be working. I’ll be well into a 12.5h shift as a staff nurse. And you won’t hear me through the PPE.”

Another referenced Gal Gadot’s heavily mocked, star-studded attempt to unite the internet amid the coronavirus pandemic, writing: “This idea is worse than the 'Imagine' video.”

Hours after his original tweet, Fogle posted a video of his nine-year-old daughter Iona enthusiastically explaining the same idea, while condemning those who mocked it.

In a tweet accompanying the video, Fogle wrote: “Some of the responses seem pretty mean spirited to a well intentioned idea from a 9 year old. I have always taught my children to be kind and thoughtful.

“We watched the speech with 24 million other people and Iona thought it would be a nice way to say thank you. Kindness matters.”