On a midweek evening two weeks before King Charles’s coronation, supporters of a bloodless overthrow of the monarchy had gathered inside a west London church to hear they might finally have cause to cheer.
“The good news is that it can be got rid of and will be got rid off,” a smattering of about 70 people were promised by Graham Smith, the chief executive of the republican pressure group Republic, from behind a pulpit.
The low-key event underlined the relatively small scale of active British republicanism. At least 10 of those present were journalists, including a Japanese TV news camera crew, and the sense of a not-entirely-youthful and largely white audience of the converted being preached to was hard to avoid.
Yet in the run-up to the coronation, those who have long banged the drum for the republican cause have something of a spring in their step, with more than 1,400 people pledging to join protests in London on 6 May.
Some believe an unprecedented focus on royal finance and funding – particularly by the Guardian – has the potential to gain traction among the public. A YouGov poll found 51% do not believe the coronation should be publicly funded, against 32% who do.
“The gloves are coming off a bit more now,” said Norman Baker, the former Lib Dem government minister who chronicled the royal family’s use of public money in his book And What Do You Do?
While disapproving of such stunts, Baker said he could not remember an egg being thrown at the Queen in the way that Charles was recently targeted.
“It’s clear that the public at large – including many royalists – are extraordinarily unhappy with what the royals take from the public purse and I think that is where they really are vulnerable,” Baker said.
Founded in 1983, Republic is undergoing a modest boost. A membership-based movement that claims to have the support of at least 80,000 republicans, it received £70,000 in donations in the month of the Queen’s death last year – a considerable sum given its 2020 income was just over £100,000.
Republic believes it can build on this momentum before, during and after 6 May – when yellow-clad supporters will chant “not my king” and carry bright placards in groups along the procession route, creating an “unmissable sea of yellow”.
Elsewhere, protests and marches are planned in cities including Cardiff and Nottingham, while there are due to be anti-monarchy street parties in Oxford and London. In Scotland – home to the UK’s highest levels of opposition to the monarchy – protests will take place in Edinburgh and Glasgow at the same time as the coronation service.
Republicans face a stubborn bedrock of support for the monarchy. According to polling, the percentage who believe royals are good for Britain is down to just over 50% – from 60% in 2019.
But a closer glance at polls indicate a deep generational split. A survey this week showed nearly 40% of those aged 18 to 24 would prefer an elected head of state.
In recent months, Republic have been building up a campaign using billboards and social media as well as shadowing outings by King Charles. In the garrison town of Colchester in Essex last month, the Guardian witnessed one of the protests that have served as dress rehearsals of sorts for 6 May, as Smith and a group of poster-wielding Republic supporters used a loudspeaker to try to challenge the king to a debate.
Watched over warily by police, the protesters were in turn heckled by members of the crowd. Perhaps interestingly, however, one of the loudest of them paused and agreed they might have a point when Charles – within earshot of the megaphone but studiously ignoring it – was challenged about the use of royal funds to support the legal travails of his brother, Prince Andrew.
But what continues to be absent from British republicanism is any form of full-throated campaign from MPs.
Former parliamentarians such as Baker insist that significant number of Labour and Lib Dem MPs are anti-monarchy but “don’t want the hassle” of talking publicly about it. Labour under Keir Starmer has been eager to brandish its respect for the monarchy as he seeks to emphasise patriotism as a way of distancing the party from the Jeremy Corbyn years.
Even so, Ken Ritchie, of the internal party grouping Labour for a Republic, insists there is appetite among the party membership and points to increasing attendance at its meetings during party conferences. Several constituency Labour parties, branches and clubs also backed a motion recently fed into the party’s policy forum by the group.
Republican Labour MPs “keep their heads well down,” he said, with the exception of outspoken voices such as Clive Lewis. Last week, Richard Burgon told the Commons that the king should pay for the coronation.
Back at Republic’s event in Kilburn, one of the two loudest rounds of applause came when the journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown told how she had refused to curtsy during a meeting with the Queen.
Otherwise downbeat, she added: “I don’t share Graham’s optimism because they have been so clever in manipulating the population.”
Nevertheless, public apathy was cited by Smith as a reason for republicans to have cause for optimism. Asked by YouGov how much they cared about the coronation, 64% of people said “not at all” or “not very much”.
“The monarchy is an idea that is starting to fall apart. Only 9% of people are enthusiastic about the coronation. It’s something that for the most part is passing people by.”
