LONDON (Portal) – Police arrested the leader of anti-monarchy group Republic hours before King Charles’ coronation on Saturday and removed him from the few hundred yellow-clad protesters who had gathered amid crowds along the processional route in the centre London.
Republic had announced it would stage the largest protest against a British monarch in modern history. The protesters wore yellow T-shirts to distinguish themselves from those dressed in red, white and blue and held up signs that read “Not My King”.
They spent most of the service booing or singing songs like “he’s just a normal man.”
But London Police had warned they would take action if protesters tried to hinder “the enjoyment and celebration” of the day, and they formed a ring around the group.
The Republic said its leader Graham Smith was arrested on Saturday morning and a photo posted to Twitter showed him sitting on the ground surrounded by police officers.
“It’s disgusting and massively overdone,” said Kevin John, 57, a Devon salesman who was among the protesters.
“It’s also hugely counterproductive by the police because they just created a huge amount of publicity for us. It’s completely insane.”
Police did not confirm Smith’s arrest but said they had four people on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and three people on suspicion of possessing items to cause criminal harm in one like her called a “significant police operation”.
The Republic said hundreds of their posters had been confiscated.
“As we speak, Republic’s entire core team remains in custody,” it said on Twitter. “They’ll probably be released when the whole monarchy PR show is over.”
There were also protests in Glasgow, Scotland, and Cardiff, Wales: “Abolish the monarchy, feed the people”. was.
Although the protesters were a minority compared to the tens of thousands who rallied on London’s streets to support the king, polls suggest support for the monarchy is waning, weakest among young people.
[1/7] Protesters hold placards as people gather on the day of the coronation ceremony of Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla in London, Britain, May 6, 2023. Portal/Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool
As Queen Elizabeth’s crown passes to her less popular son, Republican campaigners are hoping Charles will be the last British monarch to be crowned.
“It has a hereditary billionaire who was born into wealth and privilege and basically symbolizes the inequality of wealth and power in our society,” said Clive Lewis, an MP for the opposition Labor Party.
INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE
In London, demonstrators are demanding an elected head of state. They say the royal family has no place in a modern constitutional democracy and is incredibly expensive to maintain.
Most of the anti-monarchy protesters had gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday next to the bronze statue of King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, leading to a short-lived republic.
Some held up signs reading “Privatize Them” and “Abolish the monarchy, not the right to protest.”
Other signs showed a picture of Meghan, wife of Charles’ son Prince Harry, with the words “People’s Princess” and “God Save the King” with a picture of the late football star Pele.
There have been protests at royal events since Charles became king last September. He was molested at a Commonwealth Day event at Westminster Abbey in March and attacked with eggs in York in November.
The Queen’s death has also reignited debate in other parts of the world, such as Australia and Jamaica, about the need to keep Charles as head of state.
The New South Wales State Government said it had decided not to light the Sydney Opera House’s sails on the occasion of the coronation to save money.
While many other European monarchies have come and gone, or greatly diminished in size and importance, the British royal family has remained remarkably resilient.
In the UK, polls show that the majority of the population still wants the royal family, but there is a long-term trend of declining support.
A poll by YouGov last month found that 64% of people in the UK said they had little or no interest in the coronation. Among 18-24 year olds, the proportion who expressed little or no interest rose to 75%.
Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Editing by Angus MacSwan, Alexandra Hudson
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