READING, England — Graham Smith has plans for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, but that doesn’t mean enjoying the festivities or attending a neighborhood street party.
Instead, Mr Smith will host an international anti-monarchy conference and explain why he thinks Britain should abolish its royals.
The group he leads, Republic, has spent £40,000 (about $50,400), raised by supporters, to put up billboards in cities across the country urging the British to make “Elizabeth the last” monarch. He also marks the event by selling merchandise such as coffee mugs and T-shirts with anti-royal slogans.
Queen Elizabeth’s big birthday from seven decades on the throne isn’t much to celebrate, thinks Mr Smith, who was born and raised in Bristol, in the west of England, then spent several years in Australia before returning home. .
“I certainly don’t look at her with any admiration,” he said, drinking a cup of coffee in the town of Reading, west of London, where he now lives. “There is no achievement in what she has done.”
“Some people would be shocked if someone said that,” he said. “But it’s not a criticism, it’s an observation. She got the job for life when she was 25, and 70 years later she’s still alive, so she still has the job.”
That may seem like a minority view in a country that is entering days of pomp and circumstance, where opinion polls show that about six in ten people support keeping the royal family; where Queen Elizabeth is widely respected; and where there is ruthless if not generally uncritical coverage of the monarchy by broadcasters and newspapers.
But support for the royal family has declined in recent decades and is weakest among young people. So Mr. Smith thinks time is on his side.
Founded in 1983, Republic has approximately 5,000 subscribed members, plus 100,000 registered supporters.
Since a brief 17th-century experiment with regicide and republicanism ended with the re-establishment of the royal family, the British monarchy has survived periods of unpopularity. Its role has evolved over the centuries; the queen is head of state and does her best to stay out of politics.
She remains a symbol of national unity at a time when the UK is increasingly in danger of falling apart and there is no consensus on what kind of system could replace the monarchy – an institution that even most left-wing politicians want to keep.
But much of the reverence for the royal family is invested in Queen Elizabeth, giving Republicans hope that when her reign ends and the throne is handed over to Prince Charles, things may change.
“The monarchy’s support is waning during its watch,” Mr Smith said. “If she can’t prevent that, Charles certainly won’t when he’s king.”
Some of this, Mr Smith believes, is about changing social attitudes, as evidenced by the legalization of same-sex marriage, the growing debate on issues such as mental health, and debates about the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter and the legacy of slavery .
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Amid these changes, the royal family appears to be an unrepresentative symbol of modern Britain, raising questions about why the country’s next three heads of state are destined to be white men from the most privileged backgrounds, Smith thinks.
They’re also damaging Britain, he said, by suggesting “that if you speak in a dignified voice, you probably know what you’re doing, you seem to be the right person to take charge.”
But perhaps the greatest risk to the royal family is growing indifference. In a poll commissioned by Republic, a total of 54 percent of respondents said they were “not very” (29 percent) or “not at all” (25 percent) interested in the platinum anniversary, while only 11 percent said they were “very interested.” “
Although people will come to watch the royal ceremonies this week, more people can take advantage of the holiday to go to the beach when the weather is good.
In Reading, where one of the Republic’s billboards looks down on a busy street – and where it has survived an attempted vandalism – a pro-monarchy resident expressed her anger at Mr. Smith.
“I live across the street, and I don’t want to look out my window and see something offensive,” said Rosamund Moon, a retired special education teacher. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it is pathetic. I support the Queen and what she has done for this country.”
However, when he later walked past the billboard, Vince Jones said he was not particularly interested in the anniversary and would not participate in the celebrations.
“I don’t see why there should be a royal family today – I don’t see the need for it,” said Mr Jones, also a retiree, adding: “The current monarch is probably as good as you want it to be … get, but I’m not looking forward to the next one.”