He admits to having created several Facebook posts arguing that the death of Queen Elizabeth II should pre-empt the UK’s transition to a democracy, but has refrained from pushing the mission. “A lot of people seem very emotional right now and I don’t want to be the target of a huge pile of trolls,” said Matthew (not his real name). Other Republicans admit they feel intimidated into supporting something they don’t believe in. “I feel unable to express an opinion without being called disrespectful, so I’ve been channeled into conforming to the country’s grief,” said Aisha, who also requested a pseudonym. “As someone who believes the monarchy is an outdated concept that compromises our democratic right and suggests colonialism, I am suddenly being made the villain for choosing not to celebrate this aspect of the Queen’s life. “People blur the line between her as a person who did a lot of amazing things and her as a queen, and that’s where they get defensive,” she said. But groups representing the views of Britain’s republicans say now is not the time to suppress their beliefs. Aware of supporters choosing to self-censor and hearing reports of others admitting they are too petrified to express their views for fear of being overruled, the main republican campaign group is actively promoting calls to abolish the monarchy. “Obviously people will be careful not to cause offence, but this is also a public office that needs to be discussed,” said Graham Smith, a spokesman for the Republic, which is campaigning to replace the monarchy with an elected head of state. “People still have every right to speak their minds – they shouldn’t feel discouraged. But there’s a lot of concern, particularly on social media, about censorship or saying the wrong thing.” King Charles III’s first televised speech was broadcast in a central London pub on 9 September. Photo: Tolga Akmen/EPA As coverage of the Queen’s death continues to dominate the broadcast schedules, Smith expected ambivalence to become the dominant response for millions over the coming days. “There is an appetite for a lot of it, but there will be a point where people feel it goes too far or goes on for too long. There’s going to be a lot of people going to Netflix and other streaming channels.” The saturation point for many, he envisioned, would be the middle of this week, and although he expected overt republican and anti-monarchy sentiment to subside around the Queen’s funeral, he expected a resurgence soon after, when many predict the UK will enter at a different time of the debate about the future of the royal family. Smith believes that admiration for the Queen has largely suppressed republicanism, with the subject likely to be imbued with renewed energy. “The Queen was the monarchy for most people and has been all our lives. Charles will not inherit that level of respect and deference, and that really changes the whole dynamic,” he said. It was remarkable, the group said, that even in the hours following the announcement of the Queen’s death on Thursday afternoon, she received a surge in support. Republic registered more than 2,000 new followers within 24 hours of the announcement. “We also have an influx of people signing up with us,” Smith added. Poster in a London Underground station. Photo: Tolga Akmen/EPA Although opinion polls consistently show that the vast majority of Britons support the monarchy – republicans have long accepted that they had no chance of changing the system while the Queen was alive – support for the monarchy is waning. “Charles is a very different kettle of fish. If support was going down anyway, it’s not going to go up,” Smith said. Polls ahead of the country’s first platinum jubilee celebrations earlier this year showed that 62% of Britons said they supported the monarchy. A decade earlier, however, the same polling company – YouGov – reported that the figure was 11 points higher, at 73%. The YouGov poll also revealed that almost a quarter – 22% – of people in the UK now support abolishing the monarchy, a sharp increase on a decade earlier.
