Footage of Prince William being harassed by a group of anti-monarchy protesters as he arrived at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey with Kate Middleton on Monday has gone viral after being uploaded to TikTok.
William and Kate, along with King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, attended the annual service celebrating the relationship between the Commonwealth’s 54 independent nations.
A group of activists from the anti-monarchy collective Republic showed up at the event holding placards that read ‘NOT MY KING’ as the royals and Charles pulled up outside the abbey.
The service marked Charles’ first service in his new position as Head of the Commonwealth, a role to which he was elected by a vote at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018. He took over after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
As William and Kate exited their car in front of the Abbey and headed for the Great West Door, the Republic protesters shouted straight at him: “You will never be our King!”
A member of the group then added: “Down with the monarchy William!”
A video clip of this exchange has garnered over 140,000 views on TikTok after being uploaded by user princessofwales2022.
The video has garnered over 5,000 likes and over 200 comments, many expressing mixed opinions about the prince and princess.
“Not as popular as you think,” wrote one user. “They know the days are numbered when they will never be crowned,” wrote another, with further contrast: “Can’t wait for Fr William to become KING and take over.”
Despite objections from protesters in London on Monday, both William and Kate top the lists of the most popular living royals on both sides of the Atlantic.
According to data compiled by strategists Redfield & Wilton in March, Kate is the most popular royal in the UK with a net approval rating of +52. William comes in second at +49.
This trend is repeated in the USA. As of February, Kate is the most popular living royal among Americans, with a net approval rating of +32. William follows with a net approval rating of +28.
Monday was not the first time this year that the Republic had demonstrated at an event attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Last week, a small number of protesters, also belonging to the group, booed the couple as they visited the Essex town of Colchester.
Republic CEO Graham Smith previously said news week that the group intends to step up its pressure on Britain to abolish the monarchy after the hugely popular Queen Elizabeth II is dead.
“The royalists who think the monarchy is safe now are fooling themselves because the person who has kept it safe for so long was the queen, and I don’t think that has necessarily sunk in, the difference, what it does to have Charles instead of the Queen,” he told Chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston latestpagenews’S The Royal Report podcast.
“The difference is huge… we went from that slightly idolized character to a guy in a suit who you can say what you want about and who has massive amounts of luggage and a big closet full of skeletons and stories that do that can be raked… I think that may not have resonated with people who think the monarchy is safe.
Smith said the group intends to protest the coronation of King Charles on May 6, which will also take place at Westminster Abbey.
James Crawford-Smith is latestpagenews’s royal reporter in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and keep reading his stories news week‘s Facebook page of the royals.
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