The Coronation Not Seen on TV: Anti-Monarchists Arrested, Reparations Demanded By Ex-Colonies

Police in England arrested at least 52 people Saturday around the coronation of King Charles, including numerous anti-monarchy activists who say they were detained before they even started protesting. Charles and his wife Camilla were crowned king and queen in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey that is expected to cost over £100 million, or about $125 million USD, taking place against the backdrop of a severe cost-of-living crisis in the U.K. Despite growing disinterest in the monarchy, criticism of the institution has been very “muted“ in the mainstream U.K. media, says Priya Gopal, Cambridge professor and author of _Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent._ “The media and the police are colluding in essentially suppressing criticism of the monarchy and what has been going on around the coronation,“ she says. Transcript: Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Support independent media: Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: