News from the Centre for Citizenship

The cost of policing the coronation of Charlie Windsor was around £150m. Most of this burden was carried by the police of the capital city. But research by Republic has given insights into how police forces and taxpayers outside London suffered from the celebration of feudal privilege. The spending by the Met included £6,389 taken…

The Labour Party has reneged on its promise to legislate for the abolition of the House of Lords, according to a report in the Financial Times (FT). The second chamber is composed of unelected “lords” for life, hereditary “lords”, bishops, legislators appointed by one of the major parties, and legislators who have bought a seat…

The Guardian has reported that the National Archives has put protection of royal privilege before its duty to the British people. The newspaper found that the Archives had doctored records to conceal documents that show that former head of state Elizabeth Windsor asked for details of a relative’s wealth to be hidden from the British…

An opinion poll by Savanta on behalf of the UK’s leading republican organisation, Republic, has shown only 48% favour monarchy over an elected head of state. This is a fall from November 2023 when 52% preferred the monarchy, a drop of 4 points in six weeks. In all age groups under 55 years fewer than…

Britain’s hereditary head of state Charlie Windsor has been misusing the money that he is allowed to take from the pockets of citizens who die intestate in some parts of England, according to the Guardian newspaper. The British monarch is given the income from the Duchy of Lancaster, a land and property holding in north…

Monarchs Personally Involved in Human Trafficking Transatlantic slave traders branded their slaves like cattle. Now the design of one of those brands has thrown new light on the involvement of British monarchs in the enslavement of Africans. The Washington Post has reported that British monarchs were personally involved in the transatlantic slave trade and in…

The Metropolitan Police has decided to take no further action about allegations that an official honour was given to a Saudi business person in exchange for cash. Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker told the Guardian that “I’m not actually surprised. To have taken action would have offended important people in society.” According to that…

Free Speech Suppressed In Scotland To Protect Monarchy An advertising company has told the Scottish Alba party that it will not allow it to hire billboards for a pro-democracy message, according to the STV channel. The billboard company said that an advertisement calling for a democratic head of state for Scotland could cause offence. The…

If there was £8m of taxpayers’ money spare you might think the government would want to spend it on education, health care or helping the poor. But in fact the monarchist government would rather spend it on making children look at the mug of the hereditary head of state Charlie Windsor, the personification of unwarranted…

Charlie Windsor became the hereditary head of state in 2023 and encouraged the idea that his would be a slimmed-down and less expensive monarchy. So, in the words of the Financial Times (FT), “it was something of an about-turn when the Treasury announced last month that, far from cutting the royal cloth to match the…