The King and Queen’s next public engagement will be marred by a protest. Charles and Camilla are visiting Colchester, Essex, on Tuesday to celebrate its new city status. But protesters are planning to disrupt the visit and have their voices heard.
A group of anti-monarchists coordinated by Republic – the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for the election of the head of state – is going to gather in the Essex city on March 7, it was announced.
Graham Smith, CEO of the organisation, explained this protest is one of a series planned in the run-up to the Coronation with the aim of not just opposing the historic event but also calling for a debate on whether the country should retain the constitutional monarchy.
He said: “With all our protests, we’re determined to get the message across that it’s ok to protest against the royals. Increasingly people are either losing interest in the royals or turning against them. Instead of a pointless, expensive, Coronation we need a serious public debate.
“We believe the British public should be asked, do you want Charles or a choice? The tide is starting to turn against the monarchy and we need a serious debate about its future.
“Recent polls have shown support among people under 45 has dropped below 50 percent. There is a clear need for a full, informed public debate.
“Republic will be protesting at the coronation, driving home the message that this is not a national celebration, but promotion of the monarchy at huge cost to the taxpayer. The time for change is here.”
Mr Smith referred to a poll carried out on 2,124 UK adults between January 5 and 6 for the Sunday Express, which suggested young people are keener on electing a head of state than retaining the monarchy.
Among those polled, 44.4 percent of people aged between 18 to 24 said to prefer a republic against 37.5 percent who said they supported the monarchy.
Similarly, 49.4 percent of those polled in the 25-34 age bracket spoke favourably of a republic against 40.4 percent of those supporting having a King.
Among people aged between 35 to 44, 38.3 percent said to favour the election of a head of state, while 47.8 percent said to prefer having a monarch.
Overall, the poll suggested Britons are still in favour of their country retaining the current system, with 54.7 percent of people across all ages saying they supported the monarchy against 32.7 percent speaking in favour of a republic. 12.6 percent responded “don’t know” to the question about the monarchy.
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