'He's our king': Chanting schoolchildren drown out protesters as Charles and Camilla visit Liverpool
26 April 2023, 19:49
Chanting schoolchildren drowned out anti-monarchy protesters during Charles and Camilla's visit to a library in Liverpool.
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The King and Queen Consort were on a royal outing to the city's Central Library when the clash took place.
Anti-monarchy demonstrators had gathered outside ahead of their appearance to mark the library's twinning with Ukraine's first public library - the Regional Scientific Library in Odesa.
A group of around 50 people began chanting "Not My King" as a group of noisier children responded by shouting back "He's Our King".
No election. No choice. Liverpool had its say - Charles isn’t their king. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy pic.twitter.com/7HD1lctvLU
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) April 26, 2023
Protest group Republic shared footage of the crowds chanting, with one person leading with a megaphone.
However, other clips showed the demonstrators drowned out by the schoolchildren who were waving Union Jack flags.
One of the activists involved - named as George in a tweet from Republic - said: "We are here because we want to live in a democracy that is actually true to the word democracy."
He said the fact there is still an unelected head of state in 2023 was "a signal that we have sheer inequality in this country and we need to make our voices known".
"The polls are showing more and more people are not supporting the monarchy - across all generations and we need to make that known," he added.
"We need to change the public debate."
Both Charles and Camilla went on a walkabout, chatting and shaking hands with members of the public when they arrived at the library.
Before entering the library, Camilla visited a bookstand outside, part of a Eurovision-linked drive to increase reading, where she was invited to write on a chalkboard, her suggested, 'Good Read'.
Inside, the royal couple were presented with sunflowers by children of Ukrainian families settled in Liverpool.
Charles and Camilla also unveiled the Eurovision 2023 stage during their visit to Liverpool, telling UK entry Mae Muller they will be "egging" her on in the contest.
The event will take place in the city after the UK was chosen to host the competition on behalf of war-torn Ukraine which won the last contest.
It will be the first time the competition has been held in the UK for 25 years.
