Anti-monarchy Britons have been protesting in London with the hashtag, “NotMyKing” against the ascension to the United Kingdom royal seat by King Charles III.
King Charles III Anti-monarchy ascended the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week Thursday.
In a video of the Anti-monarchy protest seen by Bellnewsonline, the protesters carried placards with various inscriptions including “not my King”, “Abolish the monarchy”, “End feudalism”, amongst others.
One of the protesters, a man, said, “The principle of hereditary power, I think, is absolutely abhorrent in 2022. You can’t have any philosophical or moral justification for one family having political power like that just by virtue of their birth. That is the fundamental issue.”
Also, a female protester said, “Today is the right day (to raise the issue) because this is a political place and this is a political day and this is the day the Parliament is going to be welcoming Charles Windsor as a new head of state in this country with no say from the people at all.”
According to the video, the protest took place at the UK Parliament Square when the new king made his first appearance before the lawmakers.
However, Financial Times and Hindustan Times reported that police were deployed to arrest the anti-monarchy protesters, the action which campaigners and civil liberties groups criticised and described as “punitive” policing against the anti-monarchy protesters.
The arrests of the anti-royal protesters across Britain reportedly provoked a public backlash, with rights campaigners, politicians and commentators decrying a “heavy-handed” crackdown on free speech.
According to a Financial Times report, a barrister and environmental activist, Paul Powlesland, was moved on from Parliament Square in London and warned by police officers on Monday, who told him that he would be arrested for a public order offence if he wrote “not my King” on the blank piece of paper he was holding.
Similarly, videos on the internet showed a young man being dragged to the ground by bystanders and taken away by police officers after calling Prince Andrew “disgusting”, as Queen Elizabeth II’s son walked behind her hearse in Edinburgh.
In a similar scenario, Financial Times also reported that Scottish police confirmed that they made three arrests relating to breaches of the peace on Sunday and Monday while the late monarch’s coffin was being transported through Edinburgh.
One of those arrested was a 22-year-old woman carrying a sign calling for the abolition of the monarchy.
A policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, a civil rights campaign group, Jodie Beck, was quoted as saying that “Protest is not a gift from the state, it is a fundamental right. It is very worrying to see the police enforcing their broad powers in such a heavy-handed and punitive way to clamp down on free speech and expression.”
Also, a 45-year-old man was reportedly arrested in Oxford on suspicion of a public order offence after shouting during an accession proclamation of King Charles: “Who elected him?”
However, Thames Valley Police said the man had been set free.
But Powlesland said that “It is disingenuous to suggest that anyone who opposes the accession of King Charles is somehow disrespecting the Queen,” he said, adding that “having respectful, dissenting voices is important.”
It was gathered that the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police, Stuart Cundy, while reacting to the Parliament Square protest said that “The public absolutely have a right to protest and we have been making this clear to all officers involved in the extraordinary policing operation currently in place.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the Queen’s funeral on Monday, SaharaReporters learnt that roughly 10,000 police officers are being deployed in London in anticipation of huge crowds of mourners.