A woman was arrested in Edinburgh today holding an anti-monarchy sign before the Queen’s motorcade arrived in the city. He was held outside St Giles’ Cathedral, where the monarch’s coffin is to be kept from tomorrow, after spending the night at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Moments before the proclamation of Charles III as the new king this afternoon, a protester appeared in the crowd opposite the Mercat Cross. He was holding a sign that read ‘f*** imperialism, abolish the monarchy’. The police appeared behind her and took her away, causing the crowd to applaud. One man shouted: “Leave her alone, it’s free speech,” while others shouted: “Have some respect.” A police spokesman said a 22-year-old woman was arrested “in connection with a breach of the peace”. To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A protester before the Declaration of Accession Ceremony at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh (Image: PA) It came on a day when thousands lined the streets to watch the Queen’s coffin arrive in Edinburgh, where it will lie before continuing its journey to her final resting place. Countless tearful well-wishers turned out to pay their respects to the late monarch as her hearse made the 175-mile journey from Balmoral. But some revelers were heard booing among the crowds who gathered in the Scottish capital to hear Charles’ announcement. Lord Lyon, the King of Arms, gave a speech before declaring “God save the King”, which the crowd echoed. A man was heard booing during the cheers. The national anthem was then sung, but then people were heard calling for democracy. After Lord Lyon King gave three cheers, saying “hip hip” to the “hooray” replies, a second boo was heard. Some mourners called them “disrespectful”, saying they should have avoided the proclamation if they believed in a democracy. Helen Smith, 48, from Livingston, said: “I think everyone has a right to protest but I thought it was the wrong place at the wrong time. “(It was) incredibly disrespectful to what we were just seeing. The hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, dressed in the Royal Standard of Scotland, passes along the Royal Mile, Edinburgh (Image: PA) People watch the hearse carrying the coffin after the cortege arrives this afternoon (Image: Reuters) Police guard the cortege as the coffin arrives draped at the Royal Standard of Scotland (Image: Getty) Mrs. Smith, an engineer, believes it has reduced the event for the rest of the crowd. “We saw the police watching things behind us and we thought something was going to start, and it did,” he said. “We just felt disappointed because the eyes of the world are on us at the moment. “It’s a huge moment in history. We’ve had the death of the longest reigning monarch we’ve ever had, we have the new King declared, and then we have the back-stabbing and the shouting.’ Ann Hamilton, 48, said she thought the holiday was “terrible”. Mrs Hamilton, who traveled from Dumfries, said: “There are tens of thousands of people here today to pay their respects. “I think it was terrific to be here, to shake things up. If they were so against it, they shouldn’t have come. “Once everyone was singing God Save The King at the top of their voices, it was drowning them out.” Donald Maclaren, 64, from Livingston, added: “It’s very disrespectful. There is a time and place if you want to protest, but this is not it. “Someone shouted, ‘Democracy now.’ Then when they did the three cheers, someone booed.’ Liz Maclaren, 67, also called it “disrespectful”, saying: “The boos sounded like one person.” Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
