“Not Our King”, Not Out Of Place -By Isaac Asabor

There is no denying the fact that when history is x-rayed that there was a time when almost the whole world was ruled by a monarch or a king or queen and that there are many countries that still feature some form of monarchy. As of now, there are countries that have a monarch ruling over them.

In fact, the power of monarchs varies as it is defined by the country’s traditions and language even as most monarchies are constitutional, having largely ceremonial roles. Some, however, have absolute power, while a small number are elective and one is a co-regency where two or more people share a monarchical position.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that as King Charles III’s coronation took place today that the role of the monarchy in modern Britain has been under renewed scrutiny. Without a doubt, if the world ever needed a symbol for Britain’s divided political landscape, it came today during the coronation of King Charles. Despite the pouring rain and occasional booms of thunder, crowds of protestors and well-wishers seized the opportunity that was inherent in the occasion to make their feelings known about the royals, and their repugnance to the monarchical system of government that the UK is known for.
While plenty of brands, celebrities, and royal super-fans have all shown their enthusiasm and support for the royals in the lead-up to the coronation, the event has also had to contend with overwhelming levels of apathy, with a YouGov poll reporting a whopping 64 percent of respondents marking themselves as unbothered by the ceremony. The coronation also faced criticism for its “slap in the face” price tag to the taxpayer during a cost of living crisis, as well as a proposed ‘pledge of allegiance’ which was labeled by critics as “tone deaf”.

At this juncture, it is expedient to ask, “What is bad about the monarchical system of government which the protestors under the aegis of a prominent anti-monarchy group in the U.K. called Republic that leveraged on the chant “Not My King,” and disrupted the coronation of the newly installed King in the UK? The Republic under the leadership of Graham Smith, the chief executive of the group, argued that a monarchical system of government is a form of government where the individual or group of people in power are determined through bloodlines, noting that specific rules are in place that dictate who can be named the ruler of the state in a monarchy. He added that most countries are ruled by kings or queens, but some allow for a group of nobles to be the head of the government as well.

Given the foregoing, it is explanatory to say that one of the disadvantages of a monarchy is that the people being ruled rarely have a say in who gets to be their leader. The reason for the foregoing cannot be farfetched as everything is pre-determined, even as a society could become stuck with an abusive individual in power for multiple decades and leaving the people with little or no recourse to save themselves from the pangs of misgovernance.

To not a few enthusiasts of good governance, monarchy cannot in any way be said to be the best system of government as it is a form of government where a single person, designated as the monarch, serves as the head of state until they choose to abdicate or die. Without a doubt, the governing power of this individual may be symbolic only, restricted, or fully autocratic where judicial, legislative, and executive powers are all at their disposal.

In fact, most monarchies are hereditary, allowing different generations to take over from their parents to rule over a nation. There are self-proclaimed and elective versions of this form of government, but those options are rare. The authorities are proclaimed in the same way as all of the structure, recognizing different titles, insignia, and seats that are bound to a specific region or territory.

Without a doubt, the lead protester, Graham Smith, who widely publicized the demonstration plans, prior to the coronation of the king, particularly in the run-up to the coronation that he expected as many as 1,700 people to join Republic on Trafalgar Square, which is a historically popular site for protest in Britain. In addition to chants of “not my king,” Smith said the protest would also feature speeches from lawmakers, activists, and even representatives of other Republican movements. Their principle argument, Smith says, is that monarchy is inherently anti-democratic and that Britain should have an elected head of state instead.

To not a few democrats who believed that the protest against the monarchical system of government adopted in the UK for decades, the protest is not out of place as they believed that with the eyes of the world fixed squarely on proceedings around Westminster Abbey, King Charles III’s coronation served as an opportunity for a protest and a “significant game changer” for the anti-monarchist movement.

Justifying his anti-monarchical disposition from a Christian perspective, Symon Hill who was arrested, handcuffed, and put in a police van after interrupting the announcement of King Charles III in the centre of Oxford last year, explained in his article titled, ‘Not My King!’ Why, as a Christian, I am willing to be arrested for opposing the monarchy’ why he, as a Christian, felt it necessary to intervene and make his voice heard.

He partly wrote in his article thus: “Those 17th-century Puritans would have been surprised if they had been able to see Oxford on 11 September 2022 when local dignitaries and military leaders stood on a stage in the city centre and declared Charles III to be king.

“I was on my way home from church when the proclamation was read. I had not organized a protest. The proclamation began with expressions of grief for Elizabeth II. I would never interrupt an act of mourning. But when the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire declared Charles to be our “only and rightful liege lord”, to whom we should give “obedience with humble affection”, I couldn’t stomach it.

“I cannot accept Charles as my lord. There is such arrogance and absurdity inherent in being told that we must accept and obey a new king and head of state about whom we have not been consulted. So I called out, “Who elected him?”

“A couple of people near me exercised their freedom of speech by telling me to shut up. I said that a head of state was being imposed without our consent and that we should not bow down to him”.

Given the reasons adduced for being averse to the monarchical system of government in the UK, and which culminated in “Not Our King”, it will be okay to say the protest is not out of place.