In a proud democracy all voices are heard, and among the thousands of royal fans thronging the capital yesterday were hundreds of yellow-clad republican activists who turned out to protest the coronation.
With T-shirts and placards bearing slogans such as “Abolish the monarchy” and “Not my King”, they shouted their opposition to the proceedings as flag-waving crowds cheered all the louder.
Amid shouts of “End the reign” and “Down the crown”, royalists countered by singing the national anthem and chanting: “He’s my King!”
A clutch of protesters were arrested, which human rights organisation Liberty said set a “dangerous precedent for us as a democratic nation”.
Protesters had gathered on the south side of Trafalgar Square, close to where Admiralty Arch opens on to The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace yesterday to peacefully protest the King’s procession, booing as his coach rolled past.
We heard a senior police chief order his officers to arrest anyone with a megaphone.
He added: “We can de-arrest them later if we need to.”
Veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “This isn’t right.
“This obscuring of our protest is an infringement of our rights and goes against everything the police promised beforehand.”
The head of anti-monarchist campaign group Republic was among those held.
Footage showed protesters in “Not My King” t-shirts being detained, including Republic leader Graham Smith.
Six demonstrators were arrested while unloading placards near the procession route.
Matt Turnbull, one of those arrested, said the straps holding the placards had been “misconstrued” as something that could be used for locking on.
He said: “To be honest we were never going to be allowed to be a visible force here - they knew we were coming, and they were going to find a way to stop this.”
Footage on Twitter showed officers using their powers under the new Public Order Act.
The Met said four people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and that lock-on devices were seized.
The force also said they made a number of breach of the peace arrests and a further three arrests on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage.
Harry Stratton, 30, director of Republic, called the police response “insane”.
He added: “It’s completely over the top.”
Footage from the Mall also showed about 15 protesters being handcuffed and taken away by a heavy police presence.
Liberty said: “Protest is a fundamental right not a gift from the state - but our right to stand up for what we believe in is under threat, and that has been particularly clear in the lead-up to the coronation this morning.
“Already in recent days we have seen protest groups sent intimidatory letters, anti-protest laws rushed through, and facial recognition being deployed against millions of people.
“And this morning we saw people arrested before they started protesting - despite having been given the go-ahead by police.
“This is extremely concerning and sets a dangerous precedent for us as a democratic nation.
“Our right to protest must be protected, not clamped down on.”
Human Rights Watch called the arrests “incredibly alarming”, adding: “This is something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London.”
Another group, Animal Rising, said a number of supporters were apprehended while at a training session “miles away from the coronation”.
Spokesman Nathan McGovern called the police action “nothing short of a totalitarian crackdown on free speech”.
