The following statement was written by our sister organization in the U.K., Socialist Appeal. For an analysis of what the monarchy means for Canada, we invite you to read our article, “How to abolish the monarchy in Canada.”
With the working class facing an onslaught of attacks on pay, conditions, and services, the garish carnival of the coronation is being met with apathy and revulsion. Socialist Appeal stands for the total abolition of the monarchy, and for a socialist republic of Britain!
In the run up to the coronation, the loyal subjects of the ‘United’ Kingdom have been faced with a bombardment of pro-monarchy propaganda.
Whether it’s the fawning panegyrics praising our new King; the tatty Union Jack bunting that adorns high streets across the nation; or the exciting new recipe for coronation lamb rolls: there’s no escape from this royal cacophony.
And the worst part? The entire spectacle is a load of bunkum! King Charles officially became the head of state the second that his mother, dear old Lizzy, croaked it. So what’s the point of all this fuss?
Garish carnival
The pomp and ceremony surrounding the monarchy is clearly a colossal waste of public money. But it is more pernicious than that.
In the eyes of the establishment, this pageantry is supposed to provide a mystical, dignified aspect to the workings of the British state; an attempt to sanctify the sordid reality of our fine, upstanding democracy.
Maybe 150 years ago – when many of these so-called ‘ancient’ traditions were first brought into being – the circus of the Crown might have provided some with a pleasant distraction from the drudgery of life under capitalism.
Nowadays, however, such theatrics offer diminishing returns. With the working class facing an onslaught of attacks on pay, conditions, and services, this garish carnival and nauseating flag-waving is being met with apathy and revulsion by the majority of workers and youth.
Monarchy in crisis
The monarchy itself has been mired in crisis for some time now. Whether it’s the degeneracy of the Paedophile Prince; the petty mudslinging between Harry and Will; or the revelations of racism at the heart of ‘The Firm’: each year brings fresh stories of scandal and sleaze.
Far from exuding an air of magic and mystique, the dirty underbelly of the House of Windsor is out in the open, for everyone to see.
No wonder that more than half of Britons think that the coronation shouldn’t be publicly funded. Nor that, when asked if they would be reciting the new ‘pledge of loyalty’ to the King during the coronation ceremony, 86.5% of respondents to a Good Morning Britain poll answered ‘no’!
Approval of the Royal Family is at an all-time low, and will continue to plummet. The same can be said for the other crumbling pillars of the British establishment, including the Church and the police.
Reserve weapon
This is a serious problem for the ruling class. The monarchy is more than just an expensive relic – it is a key pillar of the British establishment; a reserve weapon of reaction that will be called upon when the class struggle reaches boiling point.
In essence, the monarchy is an insurance policy for the ruling class in case things go badly wrong, and the class struggle can’t be confined within the limits of ordinary parliamentary democracy.
All of the key levers of the state – the armed forces, the police, the courts, and so on – swear an oath of loyalty to the Crown. The King is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
The Crown has the power to suspend parliament, as we saw with the prorogation of parliament back in 2019. It even has the power to suspend laws altogether, and rule through the unelected Privy Council.
All of this demonstrates that the Crown is the perfect mechanism through which the ruling class could employ the methods of a naked military-police dictatorship.
It is true that these powers would only be brought into play in a last ditch attempt to save capitalism. But we must be under no illusions that our ‘democratic’ rulers would stop short of attempting to use this tool of counter-revolution, when backed into a corner by the working class.
Abolish the monarchy!
It is for this reason, above all, that Marxists fight for the total abolition of the monarchy, the House of Lords, and every other feudal hangover. We fight for a socialist republic, and for the expropriation of these royal parasites.
So this coronation, we hope that Charles III will be lying awake at night, thinking about the fate of his namesake predecessor, Charles I – the king who lost his head during the heady days of the English Revolution.
We’d like to remind His Majesty that a revolutionary republic has blessed these shores once before. We must organise and fight to ensure that this coronation is the last.
Down with the King! Down with capitalism! For a socialist republic of Britain!
