Royal family hijacked VE Day anniversary, says republican protest organiser

The head of a republican movement has claimed the royal family “hijacked” VE Day anniversary celebrations as protesters campaigned in central London.

Several hundred people gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday for the demonstration, organised by anti-monarchy group Republic, to mark two years since the King’s coronation.

Large yellow banners were hung in front of the National Gallery that read “Abolish the monarchy” and “Change country for good”, while protesters also held yellow flags that said “Down with the crown”.

The demonstration included a 15ft dinosaur called Chuck the Rex that represents the monarchy as “a tamed fossil that belongs in a museum”, organisers said.

Separate republican protests were also due to take place in Edinburgh and Cardiff on Saturday.

Anniversary

It comes after Charles and the royal family attended a busy week of public engagements marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day, including a military procession and flypast over Buckingham Palace on Monday.

Graham Smith, Republic’s chief executive, told the crowd at the protest that the monarchy was “a corrupt, disreputable and grubby institution” and called for “a parliamentary republic where citizenship really means something (and) where we are genuinely equal”.

He said the movement’s goal was to abolish the monarchy “in the next few decades”.

Asked about the royal family’s role in the commemorative VE Day events, Mr Smith told the PA news agency: “The royals certainly hijacked those celebrations.

“They are not a celebration of the royals but if you watched some of the coverage, it was.

“The war was a collective effort and we should be reflecting on the people that made those sacrifices at the time and went through it, not gawping at princes on balconies and worrying about who they’re having tea with.”

Arrested

Mr Smith and other Republic members were arrested for taking part in a pre-agreed protest on the King’s coronation on May 6 2023, and were later told no further action would be taken.

The group held up banners and chanted “not my King, not my King” when Charles and other royal family members joined a service at Westminster Abbey celebrating Commonwealth Day in March.

Mr Smith said Republic would continue to protest at every major royal event, including at the Trooping the Colour next month.

Former Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker, who was MP for Lewes from 1997 to 2015, told the crowd: “You don’t have to be a republican to find unacceptable the huge handouts, the unique tax exemptions and all the tricks and ways that they used to inflate further their bulging bank accounts at our public expense.

“It’s time for all of us, republicans and supporters of the monarchy, to say enough is enough and call time on this greedy family.”