Anti-royal protesters boo King Charles as he attends Westminster Abbey
Anti-monarchy protesters took to the streets of London this afternoon to boo King Charles as he attends the Commonwealth Day ceremony.
Activists from the Republic campaign group gathered outside Westminster Abbey, ahead of the monarch’s attendance at the service today.
It was the first time the King had attended the commemoration as head of state, with the 74-year-old monarch delivering a message from the abbey’s Grand Pulpit.
But protesters armed with banners reading “Not my King” rallied outside the building in their latest demonstration against the Royal Family, chanting the phrase when Carlos arrived.
It comes just days after the royals, the King and Queen Consort, were booed when they visited Colchester in Essex.
The group, which has stepped up its rallies against Her Majesty ahead of her coronation in May, has branded the King “just a guy in a suit who is spending too much of our money.”
Dozens of protesters gathered outside Westminster Abbey ahead of the King’s appearance today to mark the Commonwealth Day ceremony.
Republic activists (pictured) demonstrated with banners reading “not my king” as part of their latest protest against the monarch before his coronation in May.
Republic chief executive Graham Smith said Charles should be criticized like any other politician, but in an attempt to explain why the group was organizing more protests against the King than his late mother, he admitted: “The Queen enjoyed the deference and discouraged people from criticizing her. directly. We knew booing her wouldn’t go down well.’
Meet three members of the team involved in Republic
GRAHAM SMITH, CEO
Graham Smith, 48, is arguably Britain’s best-known republican and has campaigned against the monarchy for 20 years. His group, Republic, was set up in 1983 but has gained momentum and a following in recent years after it was formally established as a limited company in 2006,’ but admitted booing the Queen ‘would not have gone down well’ . The Daily Beast once described Mr Smith as “the most successful British republican since Oliver Cromwell”.
GULLY BUJAK, organizer of the protest
Gully Bujak is an experienced climate change protest organizer who has been convicted of criminal acts during the Extinction Rebellion eco-protests. She is also a privately educated model and actress and a former headmistress at Stover School in Devon, where her father used to be headmaster.
ben clinton
Ben Clinton is campaign coordinator for ‘Labour for a Republic’, a Republican lobby group within the Labor Party. He has previously written for the Morning Star and is a member of the parish council in Peasmarsh, East Sussex. He also spoke in favor of proportional representation at the Labor Party conference in 2021.
Smith, who was seen outside Westminster Abbey today, told MailOnline last week: ‘Charles is a very different person. He has just inherited the throne and inheritance is a problem.
“We believe that now is the right time for us to deliver our message. We protest to the Queen, as in the Jubilee of 2012.
‘Other people certainly had a higher level of respect for the Queen. The queen enjoyed the deference and discouraged people from directly criticizing her. We knew interrupting her wouldn’t go down well.
“But everything has changed, it is a very different monarchy. This has changed the nature of the campaign.’
The group believes that hereditary public office goes against all democratic principles and ultimately wants to abolish the monarchy.
Instead, they want a head of state who is elected by the public and keeps the politicians in check.
Mr Smith continued: “If you think politicians are fair game for booing and protesting, you should view Charles the same way.” The Queen felt like the real deal. Charles is just a guy in a suit who spends a lot of our money.
He should be treated like a politician. Heads of state should be easy targets for criticism.’
The display comes as leading members of the Royal Family will meet the King at the Abbey, where he will be crowned in two months’ time.
The Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales will be there, with the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
Later, Charles, Camilla and members of the royal family in attendance will entertain the Commonwealth Secretary General, High Commissioners, Foreign Ministers and other members of the Commonwealth community at a reception at Buckingham Palace.
The annual service was the scene of Harry and the Duchess of Sussex’s last official public engagement as serving royals in 2020.
The couple, who have stepped down for a new life in the US, have yet to confirm whether they will attend the King’s coronation, but have received email correspondence about it from Charles’s office.
Republic CEO Graham Smith (pictured speaking to the crowd) said Charles should be criticized like any other politician.
Protesters have intensified their protests in recent weeks and have been seen disrupting the royal family. In the photo, a protester in London on Monday.
The King and Queen Consort were greeted with a mix of jeers and cheers when they visited Colchester last week. Pictured, protesters on Monday outside Westminster Abbey in Londo
Crowds of supporters had gathered to greet the monarch earlier this month in Colchester (pictured), but among them were anti-monarchy protesters waving “Not My King” banners and shouting at Charles (pictured). photo) to “come and talk to your critics
Harry’s controversial autobiography, Spare, published earlier in the year, included claims that William physically attacked him and that Charles did not hug him when he told him about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Charles is now the head of the Commonwealth, following in the late Queen’s footsteps after she successfully lobbied for him to take over.
A Commonwealth Peace Flag will be carried in the procession of Commonwealth members’ flags to mark 2023 as the Commonwealth Year of Peace.
The protest in Colchester was the last organized by the Republic, which has promised to hold a series of protests before and after the Coronation.
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla at Colchester Castle to mark their newly granted city status
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla greet some schoolchildren outside Colchester Castle
The service will include musical performances by saxophonist Yolanda Brown, West End stars Roshani Abbey and Nuwan Hugh Perera, and the women’s Amalgamation Choir from Cyprus.
Guests of honor among the 2,000-strong congregation will include the Commonwealth Secretary General, the Prime Minister of Samoa, High Commissioners, senior politicians and dignitaries from across the UK and Commonwealth.
Also in attendance will be athletes from the home countries who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last summer, as well as religious leaders and more than 750 schoolchildren and young people from across the UK.
The service will be broadcast live on BBC One.