Inside the cathedral, Charles was handed truncheons and swords – symbols of his power to quell rebellion. Outside, forces loyal to the Windsors arrested those who objected to the coronation of a king none of us chose.
The detention of Republic’s staff as they unloaded placards reading ‘not my king’ from a van in central London over the weekend has been widely denounced as “police overreach”. But what is the point of the police if not to protect those things our rulers have told us are sacrosanct?
Operation Golden Orb, as it was called, was the largest mobilisation of Metropolitan Police officers in decades. Some 11,500 of them were involved, around a third of the total force. They lined the route, managed crowds, and ‘protected high profile individuals’.
