King Charles was met with protests of “Not my king!” during his engagement on Thursday in Milton Keynes.
Around 20 demonstrators from the anti-monarchy group Republic turned up to greet Charles on his walkabout in the city. Some of the protesters carried signs that said “Not My King” and “Not Fit For Purpose”.
Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, was in attendance.
“Republic is concerned about recent police harassment of peaceful protesters at royal events,” Smith said in a release sent out shortly after the protest. “We’re determined to get the message across that it’s ok to protest against the royals.”
Smith told HuffPost by email on Thursday that the “police were fine” to the demonstrators, as Republic had given them a heads up about their expected appearance a few days earlier.
Smith said that the group did receive attention from others in the crowd and that “a couple of people argued with us” and one, in particular, “was rude”, but that others were interested and mostly good-natured.
He told HuffPost the group plans to stage another protest when Charles and Camilla visit York on April 6, exactly one month before the coronation.
“We will do others, but won’t know what until we have details of engagements,” he added.
Amid the boos and signs on Thursday, supporters of the king also cheered and chanted “God save the king” at the engagement, The Telegraph reported.
The city of Milton Keyes also said in a statement on its website that people “gave His Majesty The King a very warm welcome” and that the monarch was greeted with “joyful crowds”.
The monarch was there without his wife Camilla, who Buckingham Palace announced tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.
Last week, a protester holding a blank piece of paper was in attendance at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s walkabout in Cornwall.
Matt Wilkinson, royal editor for The Sun, captured footage of the demonstrator and tweeted that he was “detained by police until the Prince and Princess departed.”
The protests follow two incidents last year in which demonstrators threw eggs at Charles and Camilla in November, followed by another egg toss directed at just the king in December.