AN anti-monarchy group has accused police of "obstructing" a protest after a last-minute decision to block access to a cathedral which King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to visit.
The King and Queen are set to attend the Maundy Thursday service later today at Durham Cathedral, but Durham University made a last-minute decision to close the Palace Green "to prevent" anti-monarchy protesters gathering outside the cathedral, Republic claimed.
Speaking for Republic, the group's chief executive Graham Smith said: "Looks like Durham University are doing a masterclass in how not to organise an event. They’re also placing absurd restrictions on protest so plans are fluid at the moment."
Posting a video from outside the cathedral, the campaign group wrote: "The police and Durham University security services are letting royalists go outside the cathedral, whilst obstructing anti-monarchist protestors from doing the same.
"This is an attack on the right to protest."
However, Durham police said "a delicate balance" between protesters and worshippers had to be found, adding that the protest did go ahead.
A later Republic post said that officers had backed off "somewhat" and that the protest was "underway outside the cathedral". An image showed activists on the green outside the cathedral.
A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said: “Durham Constabulary is committed to facilitating lawful and peaceful protest in public spaces.
“Decisions about policing protests require a delicate balance between the rights of protestors and those of local residents and worshippers attending a religious service.
“In this instance, protesters were given advanced notice that Palace Green is privately-owned land and were advised to discuss appropriate conditions of entry with the landowner.
“After discussions with the landowners on the morning of the event, protesters were allowed access to Palace Green and their protest went ahead”.
A Durham University spokesperson said: “Durham University is committed to upholding freedom of speech within the law and the right to lawful protest.
“Having been approached by protesters on the morning of today’s event, we worked with them and with the police to ensure they could proceed with their protest at a mutually agreeable location, in a safe and peaceful manner.”
🚨🚨 UPDATE: The police and Durham University security services are letting royalists go outside the cathedral, whilst obstructing anti-monarchist protestors from doing the same. This is an attack on the right to protest. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy pic.twitter.com/OKsfqWxGRV
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) April 17, 2025
Later, Smith added: "Charles hands out just a few pounds to some local people, while charging the people of Durham thousands and costing the British taxpayer over half a billion."
"This is a tone-deaf tradition. While the public are facing welfare cuts and rising living costs, Charles and his family will cost us well over half a billion pounds a year."
"Today wasn't just about the royals though. Durham University attempted multiple times to block protestors from entering the Cathedral site. This was an attack on our free speech and our right to protest."
"In the end, we were able to protest Charles's arrival - but what Durham University attempted to do was unacceptable."
"Republic's campaign continues unabated and the protests will continue for as long as the monarchy continues. Attitudes are changing, and we will win."
The Royal Maundy service is a major fixture on the royal calendar and normally the monarch, who is the head of the Church of England, presents specially minted coins to people recognised for their community service.
Charles will present 76 women and 76 men, signifying his age, with two purses, one red and one white, filled with Maundy money.
This year, the red purse will contain a £5 coin commemorating the Queen Mother and a 50p coin featuring stories of the Second World War.
The service commemorates Jesus’s Last Supper when he washed the feet of his disciples as an act of humility the day before Good Friday.
In his 2025 Easter message, the King said Jesus’s actions were a “token of His love that knew no bounds or boundaries and is central to Christian belief”.
“The love He showed when He walked the Earth reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions, and in the hearts of all who seek the good of others,” he went on.
“The abiding message of Easter is that God so loved the world, the whole world, that He sent His son to live among us to show us how to love one another, and to lay down His own life for others in a love that proved stronger than death.
“There are three virtues that the world still needs, faith, hope and love. ‘And the greatest of these is love’.”
