Coronation Reflections: Age, Protest and Tom Paine

 Yesterday, my wife and I went early to Trafalgar Square intending to watch the journey of the new King and Queen as they travelled in their coach along The Mall and turned into Whitehall. We found what we thought was a good observation point, and began our long vigil. On the corner opposite, anti-monarchist demonstrators had gathered to protest against the Coronation. When the republicans chanted "Not my King!", the "royalists", who outnumbered them, responded with loud "Boos" (I didn't join in on either side).. Having said that, there was very little ill-will. In fact, one anti-monarchist carrying a placard walked among the crowd near us, and suffered no ill effects. It came as a surprise to learn that 52 republicans had been arrested, as we saw nothing of it. We saw little of the parade either, but I'll come to that. 

This was an unusual experience for me. Had my younger self seen me, he would have been aghast. Back in the 70s, as an SWP member, I participated in the SWP's "Stuff the Jubilee" campaign in1977. 46 years later, I was standing among royalists.  My younger self would have been outraged.

Nonetheless, we waited. As you might expect, time passed slowly. Frequent downpours of rain did not help the situation. Shortly after 10.30, there was a burst of excited cheering in the section of the crowd in front of us. Those of us at the back, which included my wife and myself, wondered what was going on. In fact, the Royal coach had passed by, and we had seen nothing. The crowd in front was too dense. After hours of waiting and getting soaked, our feelings can well be imagined.

Curiously enough, I didn't feel that we'd wasted our time. Even in our small section of the crowd, there were a number of different nationalities: British, Irish, Americans, Australians, Filipinos, Sri Lankans, all mixing well together as friends. Friendships have been forged during the preparations for the Coronation, all along the parade route, and that's a positive thing. As we left the Square (it wasn't easy), we felt positive about what we had experienced, despite the disappointment and the rain.

Now, I am well aware that coming away with a feeling of positivity does not justify the whole Coronation event in the eyes of sceptics and republicans. One republican, were he with us today, who would be scathing about the Coronation rituals and pageantry, is Tom Paine, the 18th century English radical author and Founding Father of the USA. As might be guessed, he was a fervent anti-monarchist, one of his quotes being:

"Vice and virtue, ignorance and wisdom, in short, every quality, good or bad, is put on the same level. Kings succeed each other, not as rationals, but as animals. It signifies not what their mental or moral characters are".

After assisting the American colonists to achieve independence, he returned to England for a while to build a bridge. Nowadays, he would have been arrested as a traitor, or, like Shamima Begum, had his citizenship removed. The authorities left him alone until he published "Rights of Man" - a rebuttal of Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France". Paine was lucky to escape to France, where he was elected to the National Convention. Now, it might be thought that Paine would have supported the execution of the French king, Louis XVI, but he didn't. Like the Girondins, he supported the abolition of the monarchy, but opposed the Terror and the king's beheading. In fact, Paine wanted Louis XVI to be sent to America, where he could learn to become a good citizen. This enraged the Jacobin faction, led by Robespierre, and Paine found himself in the Luxembourg Prison, where he was lucky to avoid execution. For those interested, this is how he escaped: 

"The evening before his death a physician came to visit Paine and for the duration of the visit his cell door was kept open. During the visit guards came through and dutifully marked his door with an “X.” But without thinking they drew the “X” on the inside of the door that had been swung open. When the doctor left and the door of Paine’s cell was shut, the “X” was concealed. The next morning guards passed over his cell since no “mark of judgment” appeared. An open door to a visiting physician had saved his life."

Paine survived to see the fall of Robespierre, but not before most of the Girondins had gone the way of so many in revolutionary France.

So, what's this got to do with the Coronation, or anything else? Well, it goes some way towards clarifying my view of today's monarchy. A friend asked me if I'd ever imagined standing in  a royalist crowd and I found myself harking back to the French Revolution, the Girondins, the Jacobins, Paine and Robespierre. I said that I might have lined up with the Jacobins when younger, but would have supported the Girondins, had I attained to middle age or older. 

While I support the right of Republic to demonstrate against them, I cannot bring myself to bear malice towards the monarchy in general and the King in particular. So many people, including the Labour MP, David Lammy, have spoken in his favour that, were the monarchy to fall tomorrow, I would not send Charles to the USA to learn good citizenship. I think he is a good citizen already.

I know that there are many other issues involved. I thought that the the police action against Republic was heavy handed, and there needs to be a full investigation. And there is always the matter of royal expenditure at a time of economic crisis. But, an American friend asked me the crucial question: do I believe in the monarchy? My answer, influenced no doubt by age, is that I have no wish to campaign for their abolition while so many of my fellow citizens want to keep them. I save my energy for campaigns against Brexit and the far right. The situation might change over time, but that is for future generations to bring about.

I just wish it hadn't rained so much yesterday.