Graham Smith Arrested at Coronation: Anti-Monarchy Protests Continue: As the world eagerly awaits the coronation of King Charles a vocal opposition movement in Britain is preparing to protest the event.
Republic a group that wants to get rid of the monarchy and have the people vote for a leader instead is setting up #NotMyKing protests on the path where the king is going to walk during a parade in London.
Who is Graham Smith?
One of the key figures in the Republic movement is Graham Smith the organization’s chief executive. Smith has been a vocal critic of the monarchy for more than a decade and has led Republic since 2021.
He has previously called out the police for their profiling of nonviolent Republican campaigners calling their actions “chilling.”
Smith is a London resident and author of the upcoming book Abolish the Monarchy: Why We Should and How We Will set to release in 2023. In a recent interview, he expressed that the organization’s goal is to have an elected leader in charge instead of a monarch. He believes that citizens should have the option to select the person they want to lead the country.
Dozens of protesters arrested
On May 6 Republic held a protest in Trafalgar Square with an estimated attendance of over a thousand people. The protest aimed to challenge the coronation and the monarchy by being loud and visible. While the police had initially promised to allow the peaceful protest to continue there were reports of several arrests.
According to reports dozens of protesters were arrested during the #NotMyKing rally. Some of the protesters were reportedly carrying placards which were seized by the Metropolitan Police in London on the morning of the protest. Despite these setbacks, Republic remains committed to its cause and continues to advocate for an elected head of state.
Falling support for the monarchy
Support for the monarchy in Britain has been steadily declining since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The personal approval ratings of King Charles have yet to reach the levels of his mother’s popularity. This trend has been attributed to several factors including a lack of transparency and accountability within the monarchy.
Republic and other groups who don’t like the monarchy think that if the people chose their leader that person would have to answer to them more and would do a better job of doing what the people want.
But a lot of people who like the monarchy say it’s very important to British culture and history and having a king or queen is better than picking someone to be the leader.
They think the good things about having a monarch are more important than any problems that could come with having a leader who was voted for by the people.
As the debate over the future of the British monarchy continues Graham Smith and Republic remain at the forefront of the movement for an elected leader.
While the recent arrests of protesters may have dampened their spirits the organization continues to push forward with its message of change. We don’t know for sure yet if the group’s ideas will catch on and make big changes to how the British government works. We’ll have to wait and see.
