UPDATEW WITH COMMONWEALTH DAY SERVICE IN LONDON
By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) – A group of people on Monday held an anti-monarchy protest in London, demanding the monarchy to be abolished.
The protest, organized by the Republic, took place near Westminster Abbey on the occasion of the Commonwealth Day, the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1977.
The group carried banners reading "Not My King," and chanted anti-monarchy slogans during the demonstration. "Down with the Crown," "Racist Royal Family" were among other signs the protesters carried.
Graham Smith, the head of the Republic group, told Anadolu that they want Britain to be a democratic country.
"We ought to be presenting ourselves, as a modern, free and fair democracy where we are all citizens and no one is above the law," he said.
Smith asserted that the monarchy is actually damages the "country's brand" and makes the UK looks like stuck in the past.
"Instead of coronation we should be having an election and instead of (King) Charles, we should be having a choice," he added.
Smith also said the coronation ceremony slated for May 6 is going to cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
- 'We should have a choice not just Charles'
Ben Clinton, the campaign coordinator for Republic, said people should have the ability to choose their head of state.
"We are going to be making our voices heard," he said, adding that they want to make sure that they have got visible opposition and route toward democracy.
Clinton also pointed out that a lot of public money will be spent for the coronation.
Another protester, Liz, told Anadolu that she was joining the demonstration to protest the coronation ceremony, adding they want to make people aware that "they have actually a choice."
"We should have a choice not just (King) Charles," she said. The royal family and the monarchy are "an outdated establishment," according to her."They are neither aspirational, nor inspirational, they represent a period of history, this is gone and needs to be confined to history," Liz argued.
She also said excessive amount of tax-payers money are spent for the monarchy in a time when people are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
"People are giving £86.3 million ($104.8 million) per year (to Royal Family), and yet ... we can't actually ask how they spend it, so it's just unfair, undemocratic, that's why we need to change."
In another anti-monarchy protest, a group of Cameroonian hold a demonstration, blaming the Commonwealth of "hypocrisy."
- Royal family attends Commonwealth Day service in London
The royal family attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
The day, which was known as Empire Day, is observed on the second Monday in March and celebrates the Commonwealth of Nations.
In addition to diplomats, artists from different Commonwealth nations also attended and performed throughout the service where King Charles III delivered his first Commonwealth Day address.
The king was joined by Prince William and Kate Middleton as well as new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh Edward and Sophie for the service.
Meanwhile, Downing Street is flying the Commonwealth flag on Monday to mark the day. The flags of the 56 Commonwealth states are also flying in Parliament Square.