The biggest security operation in a generation will be mounted at the Coronation amid fears of attacks.
Police say eco-warriors, terrorists, and anarchists are a danger. Ex head of Royal Protection Dai Davies said: “The threat is as big as it has been in 50 years.”
Security chiefs are battling against an unprecedented number of threats from terrorists, anarchists and eco-warriors looking to disrupt the event.
Royal protection cops are planning the biggest security operation in a generation over safety fears to the King and Queen Consort on Coronation weekend.
Specialist cops have even widened their remit from concentrating on established terror groups and other “fixated individuals” to controversially include members of peaceful campaign groups.
Intelligence from forces in Northern Ireland has been gathered on potential dissident republican attacks during the lead up to King Charles’s crowning, it is understood.
The Mirror can also reveal forces in England have been filming and profiling anti-monarchist campaigners over fears they will target the main May 6 event.
The King and Queen Consort have both narrowly escaped being pelted with eggs by individuals in recent weeks in York and Luton during public walkabouts.
Further separate protests by campaign group Republic in Milton Keynes, Chichester and York in recent weeks have passed without incident.
But officers have put under surveillance Republic members and environmental groups such as the Stop Oil coalition, who have brought havoc to road users and sprayed the corporate buildings with paint to urge the government to stop using fossil fuels.
Security sources warned such groups could use the coronation, set to be watched by a global television audience of 100 million, as a springboard for their cause.
Former head of royalty protection Dai Davies said: "It is clear the threat to the monarchy is as big as it has been in the last 50 years - and the potential is as big because of the rise of Irish dissident groups and the increased action of anarchist campaign groups.
“This unique set of circumstances has piled pressure on services which are already stretched to the limit".
Elite cops are particularly mindful of other individuals fixated on the royals.
In December 2021, Jaswant Singh Chail entered the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow looking to find the late Queen Elizabeth.
Last month he became the first person to be convicted of treason since 1981.
The Met Police last year also referred 170 individual cases to the multi-agency Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC), which monitors risks to royals, politicians and other prominent figures.
Officers from North Yorkshire police filmed members of the Republic group staging a peaceful protest outside York Minster last Thursday, ahead of the Maundy Thursday Easter service attended by the King.
A spokesperson for the force said: “It is standard practice for the police to use evidence gatherers.
“This is to ensure planned protests remain peaceful and lawful.”
Graham Smith, from Republic, said the group would continue to stage peaceful protests against the monarchy, but described our findings of police surveillance as “chilling”.
He said: “We’re expecting at least a thousand people at our protest on Trafalgar Square on May 6.
“We will be loud, visible and unmissable, directly challenging the coronation and the monarchy.
“We fully expect the police to live up to their assurances that the protest will be allowed to carry on, but these latest actions and previous arrests may well have a chilling effect on what is lawful and peaceful protest.”
The group said it had seen a huge jump in supporters over the past six months, with “thousands more people supporting the campaign”.
A YouGov poll released yesterday suggested most British people are not interested in the King's coronation, though many said they would still watch it or take part in related festivities.
In a survey of more than 3,000 adults conducted this month, 35% said they "do not care very much" about the historic event, and 29% said they "do not care at all".
Some 24% of people said they care "a fair amount", while only 9% said they care "a great deal".
Despite this, a notable portion, 46%, said they are likely to watch the coronation or take part in related celebrations.
In relation to communication with Republic, a spokesperson for the Met Police said: “We always seek proactive engagement with protest groups to understand what their intention is, and how we can work with them.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “We do not comment on security issues.”
