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LONDON – Just a mile from London’s Westminster Abbey, home of King Charles III. Prepared for his coronation, thousands of his subjects protested against the monarchy – and at least seven people were arrested by the police.
“A significant police operation is underway in central London,” the Metropolitan Police said called in a statement Saturday. “The people were detained on suspicion of breach of the peace.”
Among those reportedly arrested was Graham Smith, leader of the anti-monarchy group Republic, at protests in Trafalgar Square, London. London’s Metropolitan Police would not confirm his arrest, but images posted on Twitter showed Smith being led to a police van.
Before his imprisonment, Smith told the Washington Post in an interview that for many Britons, Queen Elizabeth II was “the monarchy and the monarchy is the queen.” But Charles, he added, “didn’t inherit any of that” – and his accession to the throne could mark a turning point for the anti-monarchy movement.
“Things are already changing,” Smith said. “People aren’t worried about criticizing, challenging, and talking about being a Republican anymore.”
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As rain fell in central London, protesters – many of whom chanted “Not My King” – were met by monarchists who tried to drown them out with shouts of “That’s My King”.
Charles has faced many protesters during his public engagements. Hecklers disrupted public events organized to proclaim his accession to the throne, and in the past year he has been pelted with eggs not once but twice, in York and Luton.
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on how many officers they had mobilized in response to the protest, but said in a statement that they had “put in place an adequate policing plan” for the coronation.
Polls show that Charles is less popular than this mother or even his sister Princess Anne, his eldest son Prince William or his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales. His wife Camilla is even less popular – many Brits blame her for breaking up Charles’ previous marriage to the beloved Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
Not My King protests are now the norm at King Charles III events
The British public has had plenty of time to get used to the notion of Charles as their king: at 74, the eldest son of the UK’s longest-reigning monarch, himself the longest-serving Prince of Wales, is preparing for the job for decades. But just because he’s been waiting in the wings for a long time doesn’t mean he’s been welcomed with open arms since his mother’s death.
Republic’s goal is to abolish the monarchy and replace the hereditary position of king and queen with an elected head of state. This head of state would be empowered to participate more in the country’s political life. Under the British Constitution, the monarch must act apolitically – by convention they do not vote – and are obliged to follow government advice. The monarch carries out certain political acts, like appointing or dismissing a prime minister, but actually they choose the candidate recommended by the political parties.
Under the model advocated by the Republic, an elected head of state would be “free to speak out on major issues of the day,” although it would have to remain independent of party politics. They could “stop politicians from doing something if they break the rules”. And they would be accountable like any political figure and could be removed by Parliament if they stepped out of line. Republic points to other countries with elected heads of state, including Ireland and Italy, as examples.
But the new king faces a challenge arguably greater than unpopularity: insignificance.
In April, YouGov asked over 3,000 adults in the UK how close they were to Charles’s upcoming coronation. Just 9 percent said it meant “a lot” to them, and 24 percent said it meant “a fair bit” to them. 64 percent said it was “little” or “not at all” important to them.
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Experts say it’s an uncomfortable time for the British monarchy to have a less popular or less relevant leader. Republican sentiment in the UK is gaining ground, particularly among young people, but remains a minority view. The ceremony and pageantry surrounding an event like a coronation can fuel criticism of the monarchy as a non-contact institution, particularly when ordinary Britons are faced with sky-high inflation. Most say the coronation should not be publicly funded.
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Family scandals – notably the racism allegations by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who now live in the US – have not helped the Windsors.
According to Bob Morris, Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College London’s Constitution Unit, there is nothing in the British Constitution that prevents a move to an elected head of state. England was briefly a republic from 1649 to 1660 after King Charles I was executed for treason following military victories by the Parliamentary army led by Oliver Cromwell. But after Cromwell died in 1658, the monarchy was restored with Charles I’s son at its head.
“One shouldn’t argue that elected presidents don’t work because they obviously do,” Morris said. “So the arguments are really about what one brings what the other doesn’t bring.”
Adela Suliman contributed to this report.