Thousands of Britons walked past the Queen’s coffin today to say goodbye. At Westminster Hall, the line was even temporarily closed for the first time today, having reached a length of nearly 8 kilometers with an associated wait time of at least 14 hours.

Yet the silent protest contrasts with this endless queue. Like royal fans, these protests sprang up around the place where the Queen’s coffin spent her final days. For example, anti-monarchy protesters have emerged in Edinburgh and in London in Scotland in recent days.

‘Amazing and surprising’

Zara Sultana, an MP from the political party Labor, has publicly shared her criticism on Twitter. “No one should be arrested for expressing Republican views. It is incredible and shocking that this has to be said.”

Today a silent protest is taking place in Wales on the day the new King Charles III and his wife Camilla visit the capital of this state of England. Under the slogan ‘Real Protest Now’, unions and supporters of independent Wales called for a protest at Cardiff castle.

The organizers demanded advance from the police to respect their right to demonstrate. They found the previous firings and arrests of other protesters disturbing. Here’s what Bethan Sayed, one of the organizers and former Wales representative has to say.

“It is very dangerous when people are arrested for their opinion. We will not tolerate that.” Sayed appreciates the British grieving process, but thinks other voices should be heard too. “Though it’s hard.”

Almost caught by blank paper

Sayed explained that earlier this week he was called by a disillusioned man. It was a problem that he held up a blank white sheet of paper, because he might be able to write something provocative on it. “Such steps are dangerous for democracy.”

It happened to lawyer and activist Paul Powlesland who secretly captured him on his cell phone and shared it on Twitter. In the video, you can hear the police asking for details. The reason? Because Powlesland wanted to put ‘not my king’ and that could offend people. Therefore, the agent can arrest him under the Public Order Act.

The same slogan, #NotMyKing, went viral on Twitter the following day after a video emerged online showing another protester being taken away by police. In his hand he held a sign with the same text.

Unclear status

Clive Stafford Smith, a civil rights attorney, tell Washington Post why people are taken away. According to him, this happened because it was very likely that law enforcement officers enforced the 1986 Public Order Law.

It’s “a very vague law that says anything that can disturb public order is left to the police authorities to decide whether to arrest anyone.” Correspondent Anne Saenen emphasized that this could lead to a difficult situation. “On the one hand, demonstrations are allowed, on the other hand, there are restrictions.”

Although the police have adjusted their protocol in response to media attention, they still decide what to do in each situation. “For example, you will be less grateful if you start screaming as soon as the coffin passes.”

Although the silent protests received a lot of attention via social media, their gatherings were small-scale, Saenen said. “They dwarf the Queen’s rank.” They are often a small group standing along the route and occasionally a few are captured.

For example, the police arrested the history teacher Symon Hill. It happened after he shouted ‘who voted for him’ while reading the proclamation at Oxford. In a broad blog tell Hill that the police handcuffed him and did not tell him why he was arrested.

‘sick old man’

In Edinburgh, police on Monday arrested a 22-year-old man who called Prince Andrew “a sick old man” as the Queen was carried past his coffin. A video shows how two men from the crowd pushed him to the ground, after which police pulled him away.

Scottish Police let Washington Post know that the protester was arrested and then ‘released to appear before Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court at a later date’.

And the incident caused a lot of reactions. For example, Daniel Hannan, a member of the House of Lords, expressed concern about authoritarian police. “Preventing people from shouting Republican slogans, even if they do so intentionally in a rude and provocative manner, is simply not British.”

Loners and small groups protest for various reasons. Saenen explained that it was generally people who were critical of the royal family and who disagreed that Charles inherited the throne without an election process. There are also republicans who want to get rid of the entire monarchy.

In Wales, today’s protests are also about other things, such as discontent with Charles’ sudden announcement that William will become Prince of Wales. However, Sayed especially wanted to radiate solidarity. “It doesn’t matter – workers’ party socialists, freedom fighters, anti-colonialists – our protest is for everyone.”