6 days ago
Anti-Monarchy Protesters Made Themselves Visible at Trooping The Colour
There were cheering crowds, throngs of tourists and the most ardent of royal fans who had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the procession. However, today's Trooping the Colour also featured a small but very visible protest from anti-,monarchy group Republic who carried yellow banners and chanted 'Not my King.' This was the group's second time protesting at Trooping having been increasingly visible at royal events throughout the reign of King Charles.
'This is the iconic royal event of the year when they come out on the balcony,' Republic's CEO Graham Smith told T&C today. 'And it's that balcony moment we're really here for…The whole point with all our protests is to disrupt this idea that we are all a nation of royalists.'
It is correct that not everyone in Britain is a fan of the royal family. Polling shows that around 60% of people have a positive view of them and just over 30% have a negative view, with the remaining undecided. However, the favorability drops to 44% amongst 18 to 25-year-olds with 43% of that age group having a negative view.
Protester Dan, 40, told T&C that he wanted to see the UK move to a model more like Germany with an elected president in a ceremonial role. 'I think we need to head towards a fairer society,' he said. 'We're trying to promote equality on behalf of the people. We're trying to raise awareness that this is an unequal society, we've got a class system that's been entrenched for hundreds of years. There are a lot of nations now who salute the flag and swear allegiance to the flag and the people and the country, and we just need to move to that model.'
There was a significant police presence around the small protest today. While it was entirely peaceful, it was clear that many in the crowd were not happy to see the protesters. As members of the public filed past them down the Mall to get to the Palace ahead of the famous balcony moment, several shouted 'God Save the King' or 'Long Live the King' in retaliation. A handful of people stuck their middle finger up at the protesters or booed them.
The protesters were let onto the Mall once the flypast had already started. As the Red Arrows roared overhead, those caring the huge and vibrant 'Not My King' and 'Down With the Crown' banners weaved their way through the cheering crowd as the royals stood on the balcony Might Also Like
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