LONDON, UK — The anti-monarchy group Republic says several of its members were arrested Saturday as they prepared to protest the coronation of King Charles III.
The group planned to hold placards and chant “Not my king” during the monarch’s procession to Westminster Abbey. It said police were informed in advance of its plans.
But on Saturday morning several of the group’s members were stopped near Trafalgar Square and led to police vans.
London’s police force said officers made a total of 52 arrests on coronation day, with people being detained for alleged offenses including disrupting public order and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
Others managed to protest along the route, dressed in yellow and waving placards with slogans including “king parasite” and “abolish the monarchy.”
Police have said they will have a “low tolerance” for people seeking to disrupt the day, sparking criticism that they are clamping down on free speech.
The environmental activism group Just Stop Oil said around 20 of its supporters were arrested for protesting during the coronation celebrations.
The group, which demands no new licenses for any fossil fuel projects in the U.K., said that the protesters were arrested on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace and outside Downing Street.
It said the activists did not carry out disruptive action, and that they were only wearing “Just Stop Oil” T-shirts and holding flags with the slogan.
The group criticized the government for banning legitimate dissent.
Meanwhile, crowds weathering chilly rain waved flags and cheered as the gilded horse-drawn coach carried King Charles III and Queen Camilla back to Buckingham Palace following his coronation ceremony.
The king and queen waved back from the shelter of the Gold State Coach. Mounted troops led the way as 4,000 armed service members marched through central London.
Scarlet sleeves of Welsh Guards and white-gloved hands of Royal Air Force members swung in unison to a steady drumbeat.
It was the largest military procession in the city since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The procession passed Trafalgar Square and went under Admiralty Arch and then bordered St. James Park on its way to the palace.