F*ck Swearing Allegiance to the ‘King’ — Charles Should Swear Allegiance to Justice and Integrity

Brits are being encouraged to swear allegiance to the king, when he is coronated in a tacky pseudo-medieval blingfest. To that request, many are saying — in a variety of words — f*ck right off!

The vast majority of Brits were born into or grew up in a nation with a queen. Elizabeth was queen for so long that she was a seemingly eternal and ‘normal’ part of our existence. A bit like the smell of a grandparents’ house, which might not be unpleasant but is distinctive and somehow seems inevitable. Or an ache that you are so used to that you don’t take much notice of — but you are familiar with to the extent that it feels like part of your life.

King Charles is a whole different kettle of fish. We are all so accustomed to having a queen — with a strange, rude, racist husband who wasn’t a king — that having a king of any description now can seem like a deeply peculiar thing. For me, kings are characters who ‘live’ in fairy tales (and history) and may be intermittently heroic and benevolent (which is easy when you ‘own’ the kingdom) but are often stupid and out of touch — or vindictive and narcissistic to the point of psychopathy.

King Charles, it should be said, doesn’t fit the archetype of a heroic, benevolent or magnificent king of…