Ceremonial Cardiff post box festooned with independence stickers as coronation gets underway
A specially decorated coronation post-box in Cardiff has been plastered with various Welsh independence stickers overnight.
Originally stickers were applied to the post-box within hours of it being unveiled outside the Owain Glyndŵr pub in Cardiff on Wednesday.
The Royal Mail postbox in Cardiff city centre was one of four across the UK to be repainted in celebration of the King’s crowning today (6 May).
Members of the public criticised the decision to place the post-box decorated with a Union Jack flag and the coronation’s official emblem nearby a pub named after a Welsh hero who led a fifteen year revolt to end English rule in Wales.
During his fight for Welsh independence, Owain Glyndŵr seized a number of walled towns and castles built by the English and was the last man, born and raised in Wales, to have the title of Prince of Wales.
Cardiff Council
While some commentators on social media appeared to predict and support the vandalism of the box, others, including Welsh Conservative councillor for Radyr and Morgantown Calum Davies, reported it to Royal Mail and Cardiff Council and by mid-morning on Thursday the stickers had been ripped off, but their outline remained visible.
Cardiff will be the centre of Wales’ coronation celebrations at the weekend, with a public screening of the ceremony being held in Cardiff Castle and a screening of the coronation concert taking place at Roald Dahl Plass.
Protest
A “Not My King” protest will also take place on the city’s streets, with people expected to gather by the statue of Aneurin Bevan on Queen Street from 12.30pm before a march takes place.
It will be followed by a “Big Republican Lunch” in Bute Park – a play on the name of the Big Coronation Lunches that communities have been encouraged to hold to mark the occasion.
The march will coincide with similar anti-monarchist protests expected to take place across the UK during the coronation event, including in London.
The organisers behind the protest in Wales, Cymru Republic, previously held a demonstration during the King’s visit to Cardiff following his accession to the throne.
Groups have been warned that under new laws to curb protests which came into force on Wednesday anyone found disrupting infrastructure such as roads, airports and railways will be dealt with swiftly and could face 12 months behind bars.
Republican protesters were arrested in London on Saturday morning prior to the ceremony getting underway.
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Well, what did they expect? They started it and provoked the situation.
On a sad, pathetic day like today, it is heartening to see that some people in our nation are standing up against the colonial circus. Da iawn i bawb.
Such weird reasoning
As someone who is 76, and thus older than the new King of England, I have opposed monarchy all my life, as have many of my friends and people with whom I’ve worked. From my experience it is your beliefs, principles and political ideology that matters, not your age. I believe in Welsh nationhood and I believe in democracy. I sincerely apologise if that offends anyone.
Respect works both ways. If the British establishment does not respect my country, then why should I respect the British establishment?
English establishment. We have already lost when when we call them British, you are basically giving them the legitimacy they seek, that they do not have. The English are anglo, and their monarchy are German. What exactly makes them Culturally Brythonic?(British).
They sent a message, people answered. Good on them, hope the stickers become a tradition
‘pro-monarchy’? Says who? So how else are they to voice their disagreement? Why is voicing a disagreement considered extremism these days? If the PO doesn’t want defaced coronation letter boxes then it should think about where it places them.
perhaps people who support the monarchy should do likewise on Glyndwrs statue in Corwen and plaster it in pro UK stickers-
Baaa
Some people wouldn’t know how to spell, even if they were presented with a dictionary and could only come up with antiquated, illiterate and unfunny stereotypes.
I wonder if we decorated a postbox across the border with Welsh stickers relating to independence and Owain Glyndŵr I wonder what the reaction would be.
Good work everyone, just realised I haven’t slapped a yes sticker on anything today yet
I did notice the sticker “Ble mae’r Gymraeg”. The simple answer is,this is how they, the English establishment see us, not as a nation with a language and culture of our own, but as subjects of their united kingdom. The snub, was to us as a nation, in the positioning and the colours used on this cheap stunt.
To whoever did that – respect!