Anti-Royalists compare Prince Harry and Meghan to the Kardashians and call the wedding 'a PR event'
Hundreds of anti-royalists from all across Europe have decided to congregate in London on the day that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot. The head of a lobby group has compared the royal spouses to be to none other than the Kardashians and has gone to extent of calling their wedding a "PR event".
Graham Smith of Republic, a British republican pressure group, pointed out the similarities between the fuss and detail around the royal wedding ceremony to the fuss that surrounds the Kardashian family who have their own TV show called 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians'.
As reported by Mirror, Smith also spoke about the astonishing cost of policing the nuptials which will be held at the Windsor Castle. It is reported that the taxpayer could be footing around a £30million bill for security as tens of thousands come together around the castle.
The group that Smith belongs to believes that the monarchy needs to be scrapped. "The bottom line is that a wedding should be a private, personal event, but they've chosen to make it a public spectacle. They want to use it as a public relations event, and that's in no way ok," he said.
"We have no objection to a happy couple getting married, but it's the way the royal household do it that we object to," he continued. Smith will be amongst the speakers as the anti-royalists gather together in the capital. Two MPs will also be speaking at the International Republic Convention with campaigners agreeing that voters should be able to elect the head of state. Smith shared that there may possibly be protesters in Windsor but his organization would not be holding any demonstrations.
"The figures that have been made up from the audience around the world are fantasy figures. People in the States aren't really that interested. It doesn't project us in a good light, it makes us look a bit odd," he shared.
In the year 2011, when Prince William and Kate Middleton got married, the campaign group had held a republican street party in London which drew many anti-monarchists.
Despite the fact that an estimated 10,000 people will be on the streets of Windsor to catch a glimpse of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Smith is of the opinion that the British do not really care about the royals. "Most people are fairly indifferent to the whole thing, we're not a country of monarchists, we're a country that doesn't really care about the royal family," he said.
"There's a widespread view that the political system we have isn't working, and the monarchy is central to that. It falls well short of a public institution in terms of scrutiny and accountability, it's not an institution we should be putting up with anymore," he continued.
Smith revealed that the Republic conference was planned before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding date was announced. Republic claim there is nothing to stop monarchs abusing their power or wasting money as they cannot be thrown out at the ballot box.
"There's an important point in principle that we're supposed to be born equal, but it's hard to see how we can project that overseas when we have a monarchy. Having a monarchy helps other less democratic countries say: 'Look at Britain.'"
"To be honest, it's all so highly steeped in PR, it's hard to get a good measure of who they are. It makes them look like nice and worthy people, but there's plenty of anecdotes about they really are. Meghan Markle may not be the person they think, but the bottom line is we don't really care. Whether they're nice or horrible people isn't really the point, we're not given the chance to get to know them or challenge them," he continued.