The video clip of a stadium full of Celtic soccer fans in Scotland on their feet, boisterously clapping and singing “you can shove your coronation up your arse,” at a May 1 championship game, has gone viral worldwide. And not just on Twitter; British and Australian TV shows aired it, too. Take the case of BBC’s Jeremy Vine lunchtime show, which played the clip while a banner ran along the bottom of the screen with the phone number to call to answer the question: “Will you swear allegiance to the King?” (https://twitter.com/i/status/1652984784245669889 )
Reuters and the Washington Post have also taken note in recent days of spreading interest in “Not My King” protests being organized in Great Britain by a group named Republic, which has been campaigning since 1983 to replace the monarchy with a republic. Their protesters have already been appearing at events in advance of the coronation, sporting yellow shirts and waving “Not My King” signs. Chief organizer Graham Smith is thrilled that 1,000 people are now expected to join Republic’s Coronation Day protest in London, which will be held at the spot along the procession route where the statue of Charles I stands—the king whose 1649 beheading led to the last brief republic in English history. Similar Coronation Day demonstrations against the monarchy are planned for the capitals of Scotland and Wales, he reports. Graham also assured Reuters that young people in Britain aren’t interested in the monarchy, and given the cost-of-living hikes, support in the population generally is dropping.
And then there is China. The Telegraph expressed the rage in British imperial circles over Chinese President’s Xi Jinping’s decision to send as his representative (he was invited) “the architect of Hong Kong oppression,” Han Zheng. Wrote the Telegraph: “China has been accused of ‘outrageous’ provocation, as Han Zheng, known for his role in the Hong Kong protest crackdown, is set to represent Beijing at the Coronation ceremony next week.” Beijing is smiling.
