As the King and Queen Consort arrive in York for the annual Maundy Thursday service, protestors chant. The Republic group plans larger demonstrations during the May coronation of the King.
“Not my king” chants greeted the King and Queen Consort at York Minster for the monarch’s first Royal Maundy ceremony.
The King gave 148 community leaders commemorative coins at the cathedral on Thursday.
In addition to the cheers of the crowds lining the street to welcome the royal couple, thirty members of the group Republic held up bright yellow signs and chanted “Not my king” as they arrived.
The Republican protesters have also stated that they will be “impassable” on the day of the coronation.
The majority of the crowds did not concur with the demonstrators’ message that the head of state should be elected, according to Graham Smith, the chief executive of the campaign group.
As the service progressed, the crowd around the cathedral swelled to the thousands, and after the royal couple emerged. They spent twenty minutes mingling with the community during a lengthy walkabout.
Mr. Smith continued by stating that the group will create an even more impressive and “unmissable” spectacle along the procession route, where the King and Camilla will travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.
“We will protest at the coronation and beyond to challenge the concept of a succession of the head of state and to express our desire for an election rather than a coronation – a choice rather than chance,” he said.
“We will be making some commotion. As we engage others and keep things humorous, it will feel like a party.
“We will ensure that we cannot be missed as the procession passes by.”
Mr. Smith stated that he anticipates more than a thousand attendees on Saturday, May 6.
