Two republican protesters have been arrested at events proclaiming the accession of King Charles III. A man was held in Oxford after shouting at the ceremony, while a woman was arrested in Edinburgh shortly before the proclamation was read.
Symon Hill, 45, a history tutor, said he was walking home from church when he came across the Oxford event. He shouted “Who elected him?” and was told by bystanders to “shut up”. He responded: “A head of state has been imposed on us without our consent.”
Hill said three security guards approached him before police intervened and took him to a police van, despite others defending his right to free expression. He described the arrest as alarming, saying: “I didn’t in any meaningful sense disrupt the ceremony; I just called out something that a few people near me would have heard.”
Thames Valley Police said the 45-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. He was later de-arrested and is engaging voluntarily as the investigation continues.
In Edinburgh, a 22-year-old woman was arrested outside St Giles’ Cathedral after holding a sign reading “Fuck imperialism, abolish monarchy”. Police confirmed she was held in connection with a breach of the peace. Some people at the event were heard booing the proclamation.
The campaign group Republic, which advocates for an elected head of state, called the Oxford arrest “outrageous” in response to Hill’s account on Twitter.
