Republicans 'surprised' at King Charles III's protest turnout in Edinburgh as 'opportunity' opens up for campaign

Chants of ‘Not My King’ heard during St Giles’ Cathedral offered ‘necessary balance’ to Royal event, organiser claims.

An organiser of an anti-monarchy event held in Edinburgh as King Charles received the Honours of Scotland said he was “surprised” at the numbers who turned out to protest, claiming there was “momentum” now in place to gather further political and civic support for the republican cause.

Tristan Gray, convener of Our Republic, said initial concerns about turnout gave way to around 200 people gathering for the organisation’s rally at Holyrood near the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday. The rally was addressed by Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie, with up to 300 joining sister group Republic on the Royal Mile at Lawnmarket.

Of the events, Mr Gray said: “I think it accurately portrays what Scotland’s opinion on the monarchy is – that the vast majority of people in Scotland are ambivalent, they don’t care either way about the monarchy. Those who are left are fairly evenly divided between those who support it and those who are against it. I think we managed to demonstrate that those who are against it are the most passionate group.

Tristan Gray, convener of Our Republic. PIC: Contributed.

“Events this week show the momentum is with us. It is entirely possible that we will drop the ball. We are a group of volunteer activists and we might not take full advantage of these successes, but I think we now have that opportunity to do so. That is not an opportunity that existed a year ago.”

Chants of ‘Not My King’ from protesters who gathered at Lawnmarket, one of three protest locations agreed with Police Scotland, could be heard during the service at St Giles’ Cathedral.

Mr Gray said he was “genuinely surprised” the sound had travelled into the cathedral, adding it provided “necessary balance” to the state event.

He said: “I was certainly taken aback by it. I wasn’t expecting the noise to travel so well into the cathedral itself.

Republic supporters on The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, ahead of the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for King Charles III and Queen Camilla at St Giles' Cathedral. PIC: Derek Ironside/Newsline Media/PA Wire

"In the end this is a head of state who is claiming that they have the legitimacy to rule over our country. A challenge to that should be heard during a state proceeding. Otherwise if there isn’t the capacity for protest, no one would have thought there was any challenge to his legitimacy. The entire event was set up to rubberstamp his legitimacy, so I think those voices being heard into the cathedral are a necessary balance.”

Mr Gray said there were now three key areas of action to make republicanism an “imminent” topic of political conversation, with it hoped First Minister Humza Yousaf’s support for republicanism could lever discussions. Core aims were securing the support of political and trade union figures and winning over public opinion.

Mr Gray said: “That can be a really tricky thing to accomplish. Lots of people see the monarchy as this distant edifice that has no direct impact on them, so there isn’t any real reason to care about it.”

He said the “key message” to the public was the example the monarchy set for politicians, with Mr Gray raising Boris Johnson’s peerage for his brother as an example of “nepotism and entitlement” that drifted down from royal distribution of titles, including the King’s recent appointment of Queen Camilla to the Order of the Thistle, Scotland’s highest chivalric honour.