Thoughts on the coronation of King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Other Commonwealth Realms

My father was born a subject of the British King George V. He died a citizen of a free republic the equal under law of any king.

As you might have guessed I am not in favour of hereditary Monarchy. I realise that the British Royal family is probably the world's greatest tourist attraction and the ballyhoo and romance surrounding them brings significant tangible and intangible benefits to the United Kingdom. Nevertheless the very idea of the royal family underpins a deeply ingrained system of hereditary privilege and power which in my opinion is anathema to a modern twenty first century free country.

There is a proposal that during the coronation ceremony today that the King's subjects watching from home can swear an oath of allegiance while sitting in front of their tellys. Needless to say the notion of people swearing oaths to their TV screens has provoked considerable derision even among fervent supporters of the royal family. There has even been several impolite suggestions of alternative swear words people would like to use. The officially recommended oath however is ‘I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.'”

As a citizen of a free republic I will never swear allegiance to another human. I will offer them respect and even deference if they prove that they are worth it. I will also respect the position that they represent if it is warranted. I respect the position of King Charles III as a representative of a great country filled with many people I admire and some of whom I call my friends.

If the monarchy had any relevance in today's world the King should be swearing allegiance to the people not the other way around.

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