Up on the hill, in the sun, they lay it out straight. “People are beginning to wake up,” they say. “There’s growing momentum,” they say. “We’re beginning to realise they’re not a higher form of humanity,” they say. And in case you miss the point, they have placards and posters, all in sickly yellow, the sort they use on containers of deadly chemicals. The message is consistent, three words: Not My King.

Maggie Chapman is here, natch, and Patrick Harvie, who wouldn’t miss it for the world, and they’re up on Calton Hill in Edinburgh for what they’re calling Republic Day: May 10th. As it happens, May 10th is also National Train Day, National Windmill Day and World Buckfast Day, all of which sound like much more fun. But the protesters aren’t here to have fun (right-wingers have more fun, everyone knows that), they’re here to make a serious point about an end of the monarchy and the injustice and inequality they say it represents. Not My King.

There were similar protests in London and Cardiff at the same time; the Not My King protesters have also become a regular fixture at royal events. In 2023, I was in St Giles' Cathedral to report on the Scottish coronation service and I remember the congregation stopping for silent reflection, except it wasn’t silent because you could hear the chants of the protesters outside: Not Our King, Not Our King. Part of me thought: free speech, fair enough. Another part of me thought: show some respect.

The central argument the protestors advance, that we should have a republic instead of a monarchy, is perfectly reasonable; indeed, if we were starting from scratch and were given a........

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