As tens of thousands across the United Kingdom mourn the death of the country’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, there have also been growing calls for doing away with the monarchy altogether. This week, the hashtag ‘NotMyKing’ was trending on Twitter as Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, Prince Charles, acceded to the British throne. These protests have not been limited to social media alone. In many cases, people have been seen carrying anti-monarchists signs, shouting slogans and heckling royals during some of the events being held across the country to mark the death of the Queen. But lawyers and advocates of free-speech sounded the alarm bells when police started rounding up some of these protestors and arresting them. So, what has been happening in the UK? In the past few days, police have been arresting people protesting against the monarchy. The first report emerged on Sunday, when Symon Hill from Oxford was arrested after he shouted, “who elected him?”, while a document formally proclaiming Charles as king was read aloud. Later, Hill wrote about his experience in a blog post, where he alleged he was handcuffed and not told what he was being arrested for. In his blog post, Hill claimed he also faced the pressure of censorship by some fellow Britons, who were present at the event to mourn the death of the Queen. When he publicly questioned the monarchy, it appears two or three people in the crowd asked him to “shut up”. I was arrested today in #Oxford after I voiced my opposition to the proclamation of "#CharlesIII". Can we be arrested simply for expressing an opinion in public? I was arrested under the Police Bill passed earlier this year. This is an outrageous assault on democracy.#NotMyKing — Symon Hill (@SymonHill) September 11, 2022 A similar situation took place in Edinburgh, where a 22-year-old was violently pushed to the ground by some members of the crowd for allegedly heckling Prince Andrew, before being dragged away by the police. Meanwhile, a woman in Edinburgh was taken into custody for holding up a sign that read: “F*** imperialism, abolish the monarchy”. Another activist and lawyer, Paul Powlesland, on Monday said he was questioned by the police when he “held up a blank piece of paper”. The officer said “that if I wrote 'Not My King' on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended,” he tweeted. Just went to Parliament Square & held up a blank piece of paper. Officer came & asked for my details. He confirmed that if I wrote “Not My King” on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended. — Paul Powlesland (@paulpowlesland) September 12, 2022 In a statement earlier this week, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “We have been making [the public’s right to protest] clear to all officers involved in the extraordinary policing operation currently in place and we will continue to do so,” The Washington Post reported. Is the UK police permitted to arrest anti-monarchy protestors? According to Oxford protestor Hill, police initially said he had been arrested in accordance with the UK’s toughened laws on protest — a change that was prompted by the recent Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion protests across the country. Under the new law, police officials are able to intervene in cases which they believe are "unjustifiably noisy protests that may have a significant impact on others”. As per a government fact sheet, “impact” is defined as intimidation, harassment, alarm or distress, Sky News reported. Groups like the Republic, which have long been pushing for the abolition of the monarchy, have stepped up their calls for change in the country. The group has drawn parallels between the crackdown on protestors in the UK and the actions of authoritative regimes around the world. What did the government say? When asked about the protests and criticism of police, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Liz Truss said: "This is a period of national mourning for the vast, vast majority of the country, but the fundamental right to protest remains the keystone of our democracy,” ABC News reported. Coincidentally, a video of Truss as a teenager calling the monarchy “disgraceful” went viral on social media. “I’m not against any of them personally - I’m against the idea that people can be born to rule,” Truss can be heard saying in the clip. In this clip from 1994, Leeds student Liz Truss tells ITV News the idea of the monarchy is 'disgraceful'. Today she meets the queen to be appointed as the new PM. pic.twitter.com/FO9WaJRSbO — ITV News Calendar (@itvcalendar) September 6, 2022 UK’s anti-monarchy sentiment The UK’s anti-monarchy sentiment has long-preceded the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Behind the sustained campaign to abolish the monarchy is the Republic campaign, the largest lobbying group for UK Republicans seeking to overturn the government into a republic with an elected head of state. The group believed that the monarchy is an outdated system which has no place in modern society. The British tradition of opposing the monarchy dates back to about the 18th century, when British radical Thomas Paine, inspired by the French Revolution, called for a complete overhaul of the British court. He called for the creation of a written constitution, dismantling the Church of England, and the reform of aristocratic land ownership, according to historyextra.com. However, his ideas garnered little support at the time. But the anti-monarchy sentiments thrived under the rule of Queen Victoria. When she withdrew from public life in 1861, following the death of Prince Consort Albert Edward, their son became the target of widespread criticism. The heir to the throne, Edward’s penchant for gambling, and his romantic escapades and infidelities were widely known. The issue of the expense of the royal family was first publicly raised by a government official in 1871, when Liberal political Sir Charles Dilke gave his ‘cost of the crown speech’, estimating that it costs the taxpayer about £1 million a year in civil list payment to ensure the upkeep of the royal household. Calls for the abolition of the monarchy, meanwhile, have also been amplified in countries outside the UK that are under its commonwealth rule. In countries like Jamaica, New Zealand and Canada, there has been a growing resistance towards royal authority.
