King Charles III, Queen Camilla crowned amid protests against British monarchy

The Coronation of King Charles III in London’s historic Westminster Abbey, the first in the United Kingdom for seven decades, drew thousands of people into the streets to protest against the antiquated monarchical system.

The King and Queen Camilla were formally crowned on Saturday at a ceremony attended by more than 2,000 guests, including world leaders, aristocrats and celebrities.

Trumpets sounded inside the medieval abbey and the congregation shouted “God save the king!”

And outside in the streets, thousands of troops, tens of thousands of spectators and thousands of protesters converged.

The Metropolitan Police deployed some 11,500 officers for one of its biggest-ever security operations for the day of the coronation. Condemnation poured in following the arrests of leading members of the anti-monarchy group Republic, which wants an elected head of state, said six of its members.

The Metropolitan Police, the UK’s largest police force, had warned that it would have an "extremely low threshold" for protests, and controversially planned to use mass facial recognition technology to monitor the crowds.

“Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low,” the police force wrote on Twitter this week. “We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration.”

52 protesters arrested

Police arrested the leader of the Republic and 51 others at the coronation, saying their duty to prevent disruption outweighed the right to protest.

Demonstrators gathered among the 10-deep crowds lining the procession route in central London to stand out from those clad in red, white and blue, and to hold up signs saying "Not My King".

The Republic group said its leader Graham Smith had been arrested before the procession began and police officers seized the placards of the protesters.

"We absolutely understand public concern following the arrests we made this morning," Commander Karen Findlay of the London Metropolitan police said in a statement.

"Over the past 24 hours there has been a significant police operation after we received information protesters were determined to disrupt the Coronation procession."

Emmanuelle Andrews of the human rights group Liberty, said on Twitter, “We all have the right to go about our lives without being watched and monitored, but everyone at the coronation is at risk of having their faces scanned by oppressive facial recognition technology.”

The protests come amid growing concern over the increase in the police’s power to stifle dissent in Britain, following the recent introduction of a controversial public order bill, which empowers British police to take stronger action against peaceful protesters.

Parts of the legislation came into force on Wednesday, days ahead of the coronation.

Biden congratulates Charles III

US President Joe Biden congratulated King Charles III and his queen on their coronation on Saturday.

Biden, who did not attend the ceremony, called the countries' relationship "a source of strength for both our peoples," in a tweet.

The United States was represented instead by First Lady Jill Biden.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated the king on the coronation, calling the traditional ceremony "a testament to the enduring strength of the British monarchy."

"A symbol of stability and continuity. My congratulations to King Charles III and Queen Camilla," von der Leyen said on Twitter.

Her message came along with a picture of her at the ceremony.

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