Why are people being arrested for protesting the accession of Charles III?
A number of protestors have been spoken to by police for the opposition to the new king, drawing parallels to Russian opposition of the war in Ukraine.
The end of one royal reign has provided the oportunity to discuss the institution’s future, but you wouldn’t know with the wall-to-wall coverage of the pomp and circumstance of tradition. Public opposition to the monarchy has remained small though the first inklings of discontent have appeared as the queen makes her final journey to London.
The police have been excersising new powers granted to them by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. Police can arrest single-person protests if the officer deems the protest to be a disruption, with very broad conditions. Essentially anyone conducting a protest is at risk of arrest.
In one case, a member of the public holding a blank piece of paper was threatened with arrest.
“Officer came and asked for my details.” tweeted barrister Paul Powlesland, “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.”
This threat harkens back to the Russian people’s protest against their nation’s invasion of Ukraine. Protestors with empty placards were arrested for their opposition despite no words against the war were written or uttered.
Another protestor called out to Prince Andrew as he passed in an Edinburgh street shouting “Andrew, you’re a sick old man!”. The protestor was hauled down by a member of the public and arrested. A 22-year-old woman was also arrested on Sunday during the accession proclamation of King Charles III.
How strong is support for republicanism in the UK?
While support for the monarchy remains the position for the vast majority, support has been slowly waning in the last four decades.
The campaign Republic, which unsurprisingly demands a referendum on abolishing the monarchy, called for an “open and free debate” on the future of the kingdom, saying many people objected to the accession of Charles III “without debate or consent”.
Spokesperson Graham Smith added, “We are deeply concerned to see people being arrested for peaceful protest. The police, media and politicians all need to understand that the accession is a contentious event and people have the right to speak up and be heard.”