'Down with the crown:' Commonwealth Day service held amid anti-monarchy protest in London

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — A group of protesters in London staged an anti-monarchy protest Monday as the royal family attended the Commonwealth Day service.

Chanting anti-monarchy slogans, members from the Republic group were seen holding signs with the slogan "Down with the crown" near Westminster Abbey, where the service was held.

Commonwealth Day, formerly known as Empire Day, is observed on the second Monday of March as an annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations.

King Charles, undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, was absent from Monday's service, which marks 75 years since the founding of the Commonwealth.

The queen and other members of the royal family were present at the event.

Charles shared a video message to mark the day, saying: "The Commonwealth is like the wiring of a house, and its people, our energy and our ideas are the current that runs through those wires."

"Together and individually, we are strengthened by sharing perspectives and experiences, and by offering and borrowing the myriad ways we have each tackled the challenges of our time," he added.

Charles ascended the throne after the death of his long-serving mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Sept. 8, 2022.

In May 2023, in the first coronation service in nearly 70 years, he was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.

After he was officially crowned, Charles became king of the UK and 14 other Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.