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While some Britons are preparing for the coronation of King Charles III by buying royal paraphernalia or cooking for street parties, a 21-year-old student in the northern city of Leeds instead ordered 50 beach balls with the words “No more royal family.”
The plan will be thrown out at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on Saturday organized by the Republicans, a group representing Britain’s anti-monarchist movement, whose members say they are energized by the coronation.
“The coronation was a lot for the movement to just be itself,” said student, Imogen McBeath, in an interview. “It’s ridiculous.”
During the events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, the British republican movement came to a standstill, wary of seeming insensitivity at a time of mourning. But with attention returning to the royal family, anti-monarchy Republicans, whose members range from their teens to their 90s, have adopted a new strategy.
He said at least 1,000 people turned out for Saturday’s protest, wearing yellow, holding banners and chanting, “Not my king.” A number of anti-coronation parties are also being planned across the country, with members keen to use the coronation of King Charles as proof of the absurdity of having a monarchy in this day and age.
“He will put a glittering golden crown on his head in the Christian church,” said Matt Turnbull, a 35-year-old Republican member who lives in London and plans to attend the protest, in an interview. “Look, and accept that something strange will happen in 2023.”
Mr Turnbull said he expected the coronation to turn his stomach, but was also relieved he would not have that feeling. “The worse it makes me feel like I’m watching,” he said, “the sooner we’ll get rid of it.”
That Charles appears to be less popular than Elizabeth, his mother, also raises anti-monarchist hopes. Although 58 percent of respondents in a new poll by YouGov commissioned by the BBC said they would still vote for a king over an elected head of state, the figures also suggest that change is possible, with only 32 percent of 18- to 22-year-olds supporting it. idea.
Riz Possnett, 19, an Oxford University student who uses pronouns, said the monarchy and its colonial heritage were ancient symbols of modern, multicultural Britain.
“British identity can come from a better place than an unelected monarch,” he said. “The coronation reminds us how strange and archaic our system is.”
He and Mx. McBeath, who also uses the same / person pronouns, said they once showed disdain for the monarchy by sneaking into the King Bed in Windsor Castle, a building that can be visited as a tourist attraction, make it out there and read Prince Harry’s autobiography. protest.
She said the coronation would be an important moment to highlight the idea that Charles will have a special wedding and a public holiday that he was born into the right family – especially as many people in Britain struggle to get food and electricity.
“I think all the pomp and ceremony, the king wearing the crown, will be a slap in the face to the people who are struggling,” said Mx. Posnett.
After the coronation committee invited millions of Britons to swear an oath to the king and his descendants – a suggestion that drew swift criticism from many quarters – a friend of Mx. McBeath wrote an alternative pledge. “To be loyal to anyone and everyone is not a democracy,” said Mx. McBeath.
The alternative oath is to swear allegiance “to the living Earth and its People; not a nation state or a Monarch. I will uphold the values of Democracy, Solidarity, Justice, Peace and Love.
Max. McBeath said he would attend a protest in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to hear speeches, chants and chants.
“My goal is to make it more exciting than all the monarchies around,” he said.
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