On Saturday, at the coronation parade in London, the Metropolitan Police built a three-storey high screen to conceal the republican demonstrators. The protesters were still there, but King Charles and most of the news cameras could no longer see them. Currently I live in Portugal. From here the view of the UK is a flurry of bunting, ghost-written celebrity memoirs and Windsor family PR shots. Here’s the newsstand I pass on my way to work. It’s blotched with coronation coverage: The Portuguese press does have a little coverage of British opposition to the Royal carry-on, but it’s tucked away on the inside pages. The clear impression is of a nation united in support for its unelected head of state and his costly family. A lot of the UK population don’t want a monarch. Two recent polls put the figure at a fifth or a quarter . This isn’t visible from Portugal, and neither are the arrests of Graham Smith and the other people who were peacefully protesting along the route of roy...
FRIENDSHIP, DIFFERENCE, BEING OUT OF PLACE. I write about being in a foreign country, speaking a new language, and living through cultural differences. Texts in English and Portuguese.