When the Sex Pistols launched ‘God Save the Queen’ in 1977 it definitely ruffled a couple of feathers.
The anti-establishment anthem — which blasted the “fascist regime” of Elizabeth II — was once banned by way of the BBC, whilst the tabloid press accused the punks of treason, calling for them to be hung.
But Britain is a distinct position than it was once when the one got here out.
This yr marks a watershed for the rustic, as a brand new monarch will probably be topped for the primary time in 70 years.
King Charles III will ascend to the throne amid a weekend of pomp and pageantry; historical non secular rites and a live performance that includes lately’s international track stars.
Support for the monarchy stayed quite consistent within the months sooner than the Queen’s dying remaining yr, and within the months since, in line with YouGov: with round 60% of other folks in favour of preserving the monarchy, and 25% in favour of abolishing it.
There might be a “coronation boost” for the establishment of the monarchy in springtime, however the longer term traits display a transparent lack of improve for the royals over time amongst contributors of the general public, with greater numbers of other folks short of the traditional establishment swept apart and changed with a republic.
In 1983, some 86% of Britons believed the monarchy was once “very” or “quite” necessary. By 2021, this had slumped to 55%, with 25% announcing it was once “not at all important” or will have to be abolished, in line with the British Social Attitudes survey.
A string of scandals have fuelled those republican rumblings, together with Prince Andrew’s alleged sexual family members with minors, then Prince Charles accepting “bags of cash” for honours and the continuing public spat between Harry, Meghan, and the remainder of the circle of relatives.
‘Ingrained deference’
While even essentially the most ardent anti-royals would possibly concede a grudging admire for the past due Queen Elizabeth and her lifetime of carrier to the rustic and Commonwealth; however for many republicans, it does now not topic who the pinnacle of state is.
“Republicanism about the type of society we want to have in Britain,” Ken Ritchie from Labour for Republic advised Euronews. “The monarchy represents elitism. A society through which rank and standing are necessary and the place your place is fully dependent at the instances of your start.”
“Surely in the 21st century, this ought to be wrong”, he said.
The overall wealth of Britain’s royal family is hard to gauge due to the opaque nature of its finances. In 2015, a Reuters analysis suggested it had nominal assets worth almost 23 billion pounds at the time.
However, republican criticism of the monarchy’s riches goes further, drawing attention to its relationship to the British Empire.
“A lot of their wealth was extracted through colonialism and indeed slavery,” said Ritchie. “This is no longer the sort of country we want to be.”
“The monarchy is much grander, much more extravagant, much more expensive than the others in Europe,” he added. “I suspect that stems back to the idea that Britain was the centre of an empire spanning the world.”
While the monarchy is symbolic of British history, others question how much the royal family directly profited from colonialism.
What’s the situation like in other European countries?
Britain is not the only European country with an active discussion about the role of the royal family.
In the Netherlands, a poll carried out for King’s Day in April 2022 showed 71% support for the monarchy and 29% support for a republic — a few percentage points more support for republicanism than in the UK, but a much stronger support support for the royals.
Meanwhile in Denmark — where Queen Margrethe is Europe’s longest-reigning monarch, and recently celebrated 50 years on the throne — a February 2022 poll showed almost 77% of people supported a Danish monarchy, while just 14.6% of people wanted the Nordic nation to become a republic.
And in Spain, where a series of financial and personal scandals has rocked the House of Bourbon in recent years, an October 2020 poll found that 40.9% of Spaniards favoured replacing King Felipe and Queen Letizia in favour of a republic; while 34.9% of people said they supported keeping the royal family.
The sprawling fortunes of Britain’s royals are not the only gripe of anti-monarchists. It’s also what they call the “inequality of energy” that comes with it.
Professor Richard Toye, a historian at Exeter University, criticised the “democratic deficit” of having such “an important public position which is hereditary”, calling it “surprising and problematic” in a country styling itself as a democracy.
This shadowy power fuels “worries about the ways in which monarchs, although they’re supposed to be neutral, actually end up wielding influence over politics”, he added.
In 2021, the late Queen was accused of lobbying government to protect her private wealth from new transparency laws, while other members of her family have allegedly applied pressure to get financial advantages.
“They are simply preserving their own power”, said Richtie. “We want to see a monarch that is much more transparent.”
When Charles took over the Crown Estate, the 15 billion pound portfolio of land and assets held by his mother, it was not subjected to inheritance tax, prompting widespread criticism in the UK.
‘We are entering new territory’
By any measure, the British monarchy does not seem like it is going anywhere – even if republican feeling grows stronger.
All of Britain’s major political parties are pro-monarchist, and in a country grappling with strikes, inflation and the fallout from Brexit, the issue remains a low priority.
“The very existence of the monarchy is dependent on publicity and public opinion,” says Ken Ritchie from Labour for Republic.
“If it wasn’t for that, it would simply be irrelevant and ignored … they’re going to do their best to try and to win back public support.”
Despite the “very chequered previous” of King Charles and the recent controversies to rock the Royal Family, Dr Joe Powell, a republican campaigner, was dismayed that public criticism of the was not turning even more against the monarchy.
“You would think that the high level of scandals would make people question what they’re doing and why they’re doing it on our behalf,” he said.
“But that doesn’t really seem to happen.”