'We Don't Want a King To Rule Over Us'

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, on September 8, the debate about the legitimacy and necessity of the monarchy has come sharply back into focus. Although the abolition of the monarchy may sound farfetched to some, the hashtag #AbolishTheMonarchy has been viewed over 26 billion times on TikTok. In a 2021 YouGov study, 41 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds thought there should now be an elected head of state in place of a monarch.

The monarchy of the United Kingdom can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon England and early medieval Scotland, which formed into the kingdoms of England and Scotland by the 10th century. Anglo-Saxon England had an elective monarchy, but this was replaced after England was conquered by the Normans in 1066.

The monarchy has been abolished once before, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. In 1649, King Charles I was tried for high treason, convicted, and executed. This marked the end of the English Civil War, which then resulted in parliament overthrowing the monarchy and initiating a period of an English republic, known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After 11 years, in 1660, a limited monarchy was reinstated, but moderated by an independent parliament.

Although the sovereign no longer has a political or executive role, Queen Elizabeth II, and now King Charles III, according to the official Royal Family website, will "continue to play an important part in the life of the nation".

Their official statement goes on to say: "As Head of State, The Monarch undertakes constitutional and representational duties which have developed over one thousand years of history. In addition to these State duties, The Monarch has a less formal role as 'Head of Nation'. The Sovereign acts as a focus for national identity, unity and pride; gives a sense of stability and continuity; officially recognizes success and excellence; and supports the ideal of voluntary service."

During the recent ceremonial events following the death of Elizabeth II, it has been reported that a woman in the United Kingdom was arrested for holding an 'abolish the monarchy' sign, while a man who heckled Prince Andrew was charged with breach of the peace.

Despite this increase in abolitionist attitude, a new YouGov poll that took place just after the queen's death saw a big spike in public affection for King Charles III.

It's important to recognize that although there are people and organizations that want to see an end to the monarchy, the majority of people are in no way celebrating the death of the Queen.

Anti-monarchist campaign group Republic said in a press release issued on September 8: "There will be plenty of time to debate the monarchy's future. For now, we must respect the family's personal loss and allow them and others to mourn the loss of a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother."

They followed up with another press release declaring: "A proclamation of a new king is an affront to democracy, a moment that stands firmly against the values most of us believe in, values such as equality, accountability and the rule of law."

British comedian, actor, and writer Russell Brand has been critical of the monarchy in the past, and in a 14-minute video posted to his YouTube channel on September 9, he described the queen as: "A constant presence, in this constancy we find a certain stability. But if we examine it, it's also a symbol of our inability to bring about real change.

"The idea that the monarchy can withstand this death, is potentially absurd. It's going to take a lot of engineering and a lot of consideration.

"This is of course not a judgment of the individual human Queen Elizabeth II, who none of us other than a very limited circle of people have any potential to understand or to know."

An important question to ask here is, if the United Kingdom did not currently have a monarchy, would anyone be advocating one?

Newsweek spoke to three young people on why they believe the monarchy should be abolished.

'No Human Deserves More Privilege Because Of The Family They Were Born Into'

I think the monarchy should be abolished because it's an institution created to be the physical embodiment of classism. And the only reason it survived this long and up until today is because of centuries of exploitation, slavery, racial violence and theft of resources from places all over the world. Yet Queen Elizabeth II—or any other ruling monarch—not only never issued an official apology for everything they've done and stolen, but not even acknowledged the past. Even in the 20th century, for instance, what happened in Kenya during the anti-colonial Mau Mau Rebellion.

Besides, no human being is born better or worse than any other human being. And no human being deserves more privilege and more rights simply because they happen to be born in the 'right' family. I honestly find it baffling that so many people still disagree with that and are happy to support all this royal glitz and glamour largely funded from their own pockets.

I have always felt this way about the monarchy. Even as a little kid I couldn't quite get what's the purpose of having an institution that seems so archaic and only furthers the divide between the ultra-rich, the ultra-privileged and us, the 'commoners.' Or rather the 'subjects.'

I find it bizarre that some people from the colonized commonwealth countries do not want to become a republic and like the queen. A lot of places across the Commonwealth suffered a great deal, even in the last century and even during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. In countries like Canada or Australia, indigenous children continued to be stolen and forced to go through 'residential school' systems until the 1990s.

And yet, once again, there were no reparations. Or apology.

Katie Jagielnicka, 28, from London

'Instead Of Giving King Charles III The Throne, It Should Have Been Democratic'

I think the monarchy should be abolished because the whole idea of hereditary monarchy is an outdated anachronism that is not fit for the 21^st century. The whole premise of the Monarchy is that bloodline is more important than the democratic will of the people, I believe that instead of giving Charles the 'god-given right' to become Britain's head of state that, instead, the people should decide who the Head of State should be through a democratic process. People in Britain are 'subjects' rather than citizens and the country will never be truly egalitarian if this dated institution continues to exist.

The monarch still has powers including Royal Assent, the Royal Prerogative, the power to dissolve parliament, the power to declare war, and more—although the current monarch may not use this power there is nothing to stop a future monarch from abusing these powers (and if we were to take away these powers: why have a monarchy in the first place?) therefore these powers should be transferred away from an undemocratic and unaccountable institution to the democratically elected parliament. A national debate about republicanism needs to happen and I would hope that a referendum will take place where both sides can put their arguments to the people.

I have always felt this way about the monarchy because I have been a republican since I started to engage with politics less than a decade ago, for the aforementioned reasons.

I think Meghan Markle deserves full solidarity against the relentless and racist attacks by much of the mainstream media. She talked about her struggles and how she contemplated suicide yet the attacks against her still continue. I was a republican prior to her Oprah interview but comments including allegations against a royal family member who made racist comments against her unborn child were absolutely shocking and made me think less of the royal family.

George Aylett, 26, from Leeds, UK

'The Royal Family Has A History Of Violence And Oppression'

The monarchy is an outdated, tone-deaf institution whose roots in the British Empire have a history of violence, oppression, and subjugation of millions of people around the globe. For hundreds of years, the royal family have had inarguable ties with this tyrannical legacy, sanctioning genocide and torture in their colonies for whatever reason they deemed fit.

When it comes to Queen Elizabeth II's role in this, many will credit her for playing a role in decolonization, but at the same time, when challenged about colonial atrocities, those same people will argue that the queen had no ability to express her opinions over parliament decisions and that she was just a figurehead. So which is it?

There is also no clear evidence that the monarchy pays for itself through tourism, despite many people using that argument to keep the monarchy.

Online figures suggest that the monarchy is valued at around £67 billion, but the actual figure is closer to £1.15 billion (according to research by Brand Finance). What they don't tell you is that almost half of that figure's 'value' is attributed to security, maintenance, fashion endorsements, and PR.

The UK's independent tourism body, VisitBritain, has also stated that inbound tourism to Britain is worth £26.2 billion, and only a very small amount of that total figure is directly linked to tourism brought about by the British monarchy. The funeral and coronation will also cost the taxpayer millions in a cost of living crisis, and people are being arrested for protesting against this.

I remember our school celebrating the queen's golden jubilee in 2002. Even at that age I didn't understand the hysteria around the event, or why people were so obsessed.

I think we will become a republic, but when this will happen, I'm not sure. Undoubtedly it will be a long and painful process. I think when current baby boomers and Gen X generations pass, those outdated ideas of allegiance to the monarchy will too, and it will bring more fresh perspectives willing to challenge the notion of 'divine right to rule' and the monarchy's sordid history.

Social media makes it harder than ever to censor people's experiences, and as this develops, more and more voices will be heard. To become a republic we not only require an uprising from the people, but dissent from public figures and people in positions of power.

Mina Moriarty, 28, from Glasgow, Scotland