‘###NotMyKing’: With King Charles III’s accession to the throne, why are anti-monarchy protestors being arrested?
This week, the hashtag ‘NotMyKing’ was trending on Twitter as Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, Prince Charles, acceded to the British throne. These protests have not been limited to social media alone.
Written by Rahel Philipose , Edited by Explained Desk
New Delhi | Updated: September 15, 2022 8:51:59 am

People protest ahead of the proclamation ceremony for Britain's King Charles, following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, at Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, Wales, Britain September 11, 2022. (Reuters Photo: Molly Darlington)
As tens of thousands across the United Kingdom mourn the death of the country’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, there have also been growing calls for doing away with the monarchy altogether.
This week, the hashtag ‘NotMyKing’ was trending on Twitter as Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, Prince Charles, acceded to the British throne. These protests have not been limited to social media alone. In many cases, people have been seen carrying anti-monarchists signs, shouting slogans and heckling royals during some of the events being held across the country to mark the death of the Queen.
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But lawyers and advocates of free-speech sounded the alarm bells when police started rounding up some of these protestors and arresting them.
So, what has been happening in the UK?
In the past few days, police have been arresting people protesting against the monarchy. The first report emerged on Sunday, when Symon Hill from Oxford was arrested after he shouted, “who elected him?”, while a document formally proclaiming Charles as king was read aloud. Later, Hill wrote about his experience in a blog post, where he alleged he was handcuffed and not told what he was being arrested for.
In his blog post, Hill claimed he also faced the pressure of censorship by some fellow Britons, who were present at the event to mourn the death of the Queen. When he publicly questioned the monarchy, it appears two or three people in the crowd asked him to “shut up”.
A similar situation took place in Edinburgh, where a 22-year-old was violently pushed to the ground by some members of the crowd for allegedly heckling Prince Andrew, before being dragged away by the police.
Meanwhile, a woman in Edinburgh was taken into custody for holding up a sign that read: “F*** imperialism, abolish the monarchy”.
Another activist and lawyer, Paul Powlesland, on Monday said he was questioned by the police when he “held up a blank piece of paper”. The officer said “that if I wrote ‘Not My King’ on it, he would arrest me under the Public Order Act because someone might be offended,” he tweeted.
In a statement earlier this week, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “We have been making [the public’s right to protest] clear to all officers involved in the extraordinary policing operation currently in place and we will continue to do so,” The Washington Post reported.
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Is the UK police permitted to arrest anti-monarchy protestors?
According to Oxford protestor Hill, police initially said he had been arrested in accordance with the UK’s toughened laws on protest — a change that was prompted by the recent Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion protests across the country.
Under the new law, police officials are able to intervene in cases which they believe are “unjustifiably noisy protests that may have a significant impact on others”. As per a government fact sheet, “impact” is defined as intimidation, harassment, alarm or distress, Sky News reported.
Groups like the Republic, which have long been pushing for the abolition of the monarchy, have stepped up their calls for change in the country. The group has drawn parallels between the crackdown on protestors in the UK and the actions of authoritative regimes around the world.....
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/queen-elizabeth-death-king-charles-accession-not-my-king-anti-monarchy-protests-8149658/