Friday, 26 Apr 2024

King Charles has NOT faced increase in anti-monarchy protests, Met say

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King Charles III and the Prince and Princess of Wales are among members of the Royal Family who have faced a number of anti-monarchy protesters in recent months. However, Express.co.uk can disclose the number of demonstrators against the monarchy since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September hasn’t been noticeably higher than previous years. Responding to a Freedom of Information request, the Met Police told the publication: “I can confirm that the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] has not recorded a noticeable increase in protests against the monarchy and its members since September 2022.”

The death of the Queen on September 8 was followed by a number of lone protesters who peacefully expressed their anti-monarchy views.

Among them, on September 11, a man named Symon Hill was arrested – and later de-arrested – by police after he seemingly made anti-monarchist comments at a proclamation ceremony for King Charles.

He was later charged with using threatening or abusive words or disorderly behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The Crown Prosecution Service reversed the police force’s decision to charge him in January.

A few months later, two young men hurled eggs at King Charles during two different walkabouts.

The monarch, who was not hit during either occasion, became the target of the egg-throwing protesters first on November 9 as he was visiting York and later on December 6, when he was in Luton.

While these incidents all saw individuals expressing their anti-monarchy views, His Majesty has also faced organised protests from Republic, the biggest organisation in the UK campaigning for the election of the head of state.

In mid-February, Charles was welcomed to Milton Keynes by a small number of protesters waving bright yellow placards reading “Not my King”.

The sovereign didn’t shy away from the demonstration but rather he carried out a walkabout, meeting well-wishers who stood near the activists. Royalists drowned out the protestors by shouting: “God save the King.”

A month later, the King was heckled by a member of Republic upon his arrival in Colchester, Essex’s new city.

The protesters once again gathered alongside royal fans, and this time not only waved placards but the King faced a series of questions through a megaphone.

As the King, accompanied by Queen Camilla, was walking to meet officials in Colchester, one of the activists could be heard asking him questions, including: “Why are you wasting our money?”

Once again, Charles did not acknowledge the protest, and had his spirit likely bolstered by well-wishers who tried to cover the voice of the republican protesters by chanting “God save the King”.

Moreover, the 74-year-old received a drawing by a schoolgirl who depicted him and the words “best King”.

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Prior to the protest in Colchester, Republic CEO Graham Smith had explained what his organisation wanted to achieve, citing a recent poll that suggested support for the monarchy among the under-45s has dropped below 50 percent.

He said: “We believe the British public should be asked, do you want Charles or a choice? The tide is starting to turn against the monarchy and we need a serious debate about its future.”

Mr Smith referred to a poll carried out on 2,124 UK adults between January 5 and 6 for the Sunday Express, which suggested young people are keener on electing a head of state than retaining the monarchy.

Overall, the poll suggested Britons are still in favour of their country retaining the current system, with 54.7 percent of people across all ages saying they supported the monarchy against 32.7 percent speaking in favour of a republic. 12.6 percent responded “don’t know” to the question about the monarchy.

Warning more protests will take place over the next two months leading up to the Coronation, Mr Smith added: “Republic will be protesting at the Coronation, driving home the message that this is not a national celebration, but promotion of the monarchy at huge cost to the taxpayer. The time for change is here.”

Indeed, Republic staged another protest on Monday, as senior royals gathered at Westminster Abbey for the yearly Commonwealth Day service.

Charles and Camilla aren’t the only royals who saw their public duties disrupted by protesters.

As they paid their first official visit to Cornwall as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate’s day was partially overshadowed by a man who stood among royal fans and held up a piece of blank paper, seemingly protesting the monarchy.

After he was swiftly led away from the crowd by police officers, he told royal correspondent Matt Wilkinson when asked why he protested: “It’s the 21st century we don’t need a monarchy any more, it’s f***ng ridiculous”.

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