Monday was Commonwealth Day in the UK, and the left-behind royals sauntered into Westminster Abbey at around 4 pm GMT for the “Commonwealth service.” I have no idea why the church service started so late in the day, other than royal schedules probably revolve around the Princess of Wales’s access to her Wig Closet. The late afternoon start gave Republic a lot of time to gather a large group of demonstrators outside the Abbey, and that meant that photographers got a lot of shots of those photogenic yellow signs. Protestors also created their own signs, mostly involving photos from the Epstein Files of Prince Andrew with young women/little girls. The protestors were crazy-loud too, and there were more people protesting the left-behinds than royal supporters there to see the Windsors. Keep in mind, the service was also the first “big event” for the family since Prince Andrew was arrested at Wood Farm on February 19th. All in all, it went poorly. All of the coverage centered around the protests and the fact that the BBC didn’t even broadcast the service. *sad clown noise*
Kate Middleton, Prince William, King Charles and other members of the royal family faced protesters at their largest public gathering since the former Prince Andrew’s arrest. On Monday, March 9, the royals attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, where they were met with protesters from the anti-monarchy group Republic.
“What did you know?” spelled out a row of bright yellow posters held by the protesters, seemingly referencing Andrew’s connection to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Other signs held by the protesters included anti-monarchy messages and more references to the ex-Prince Andrew.
The Commonwealth Day service was the royal family’s largest gathering since Andrew, 66, was arrested on Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew’s arrest in February — the first of a royal since 1649, when King Charles I was beheaded for high treason — sent shock waves through the House of Windsor and raised questions about accountability and privilege.
“If it comes out that people knew stuff — whether it be members of the family or police or staffers — then heads must roll,” Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy, tells PEOPLE.
A palace insider adds: “Other events have rocked the monarchy, but something from within — where someone is being arrested — is very different. This is much more serious.”
As someone covering the aftermath of Andrew’s arrest in real time, let me tell you what happened. For about a full week after his arrest, it felt like the sky was falling on the House of Windsor. It felt like they weren’t going to keep calm and carry on, and that some major changes were afoot. But since then, it’s felt less urgent. I think people are still justifiably pissed and the investigations are clearly on-going, but something else has set in. Something like… widespread simmering anger, if not rage. The feeling that the Windsors are deeply unpopular across the board and nothing will actually “fix” this situation. There’s also a sense that there are other shoes left to drop, and once the next big things happen in the coming months, there will be no going back.
🚨🚨 BREAKING NEWS: Protestors have asked Charles and William ‘What did you know about Andrew?’ at the Commonwealth Day Service. It’s time for the royals to stop dodging accountability. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy #Epstein pic.twitter.com/EbGTZ0S6Kk
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) March 9, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey.,Image: 1081428664, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards/Avalon
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- Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey.,Image: 1081452711, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards/Avalon
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- Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey. Prince Albert of Monaco greets Commonwealth Secretary General Shirley Botchwey,Image: 1081463086, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards/Avalon
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- 09/03/2026. London, UK. Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey.,Image: 1081660055, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM Royals from around the world attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London. Pictured: Princess Catherine of Wales, Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 9 MARCH 2026 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Anti-monarchy protesters outside Westminster Abbey, in London ahead of the annual Commonwealth Day service of celebration Featuring: Atmosphere Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Mar 2026 Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbe Featuring: Prince William Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Mar 2026 Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Republic protesters against the monarchy at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey Featuring: Atmosphere Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Mar 2026 Credit: Matthew Chattle/Cover Images
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- Republic protesters against the monarchy at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey Featuring: Atmosphere Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Mar 2026 Credit: Matthew Chattle/Cover Images
May it all rock the monarchy right into f**king oblivion. It’s all past time.
…”parasite’…that was the best part from the protesters!
That sums it all up! The reckoning is overdue!
Keep up the momentum, folks, and may you sweep the entire Royal family right out of their oblivious bubble of extreme privilege and entitlement!!! It can be done-really!
How did the “royals” convince the UK people’s that they were better than the average Joe for so long? I guess we can blame Lizzy for allowing the cameras in and lifting the secret veil. Honestly, the “left behind royals” seem to have no moral compass, compassion, or even basic common sense. How long will the UK taxpayer put up with paying for their crap?
Looking at W’s devastated face in that photo, I now think that a lot of tension that appears between him and Kate is attributable to his own miserable, moody personality. I don’t think that it’s necessarily unhappiness in his marriage.
They are both made for each – for all the wrong reasons. He chose her because she and her family encouraged and fuelled his grandiose sense of entitlement, ego and laziness. Nothing has changed IMO. It’s just that W is under more scrutiny these days, especially with Harry gone.
W has to have someone with whom to vent his anger and Kate is that person. She’ll put up with it no matter what. That’s why he married her and why he is so miserable. It’s a co-dependent relationship.
Thank you @Convict for your astute analysis of their co-dependent bond.
Not dissimilar to Camilla constantly pumping Charles up.
I don’t think he is happy in the marriage, but he wants to have the image of “happy family man”
His anger issues should have been treated. He should have been sent for counseling ages ago. He rages on about his brother all the time and wants his brother and his wife and children to be miserable. I think he settled for Keen.
As it should. They’ve coasted on tradition and the affection held for others for entirety too long and have escaped accountability too many times. They want it all ways. To be just a family who want to serve when people are asking for justice, and ruthless business when icing people out or getting exempted from laws and paying their fair share.
None of the remaining “working” royals have the charm or gravitas to get people to give them the benefit of the doubt while figuring out what to do. And it’s all their fault. They allowed for rot and criminality to exist without check, because they felt they had the media under their control. And they had plenty of scapegoats to throw under the bus, and if that didn’t work they always could just say look the poor Queen! You don’t want to hurt that old grandma do you?
And they don’t have her to hide behind, in fact they’re using her as a scapegoat from the grave. And they don’t know what to do. Print media isn’t going to save them. Bringing out the nation’s grandma isn’t going to save them. The King can’t make a firm decision to save his life, the heir is a lazy, arrogant, rage ball, and everyone else is barely a blip on the radar.
Oh I love this for all of them!! May the monarchy burn!!
So was it Walesmania or Windsormania? Bc they were indeed “mobbed” this time for real. And not by school children that were bused in.
Tens of Republic protesters have been showing up at royal events for years. The only difference this time is the media covered them, which shows the media is pissed at the royal family for lying about Andrew. The story of William’s rage at Harry has run it’s course. No cares enough about the York sisters for that story line to last more than a day or two. The tabs will run protest articles until the royals throw them some bloody red meat. Maybe the next big leak will be Kate’s wig allergy.
Protestors need to start showing up with placards centering Charles, surrounded by all the pedo friends that were in his orbit.
Bishop Ball
Jimmy Saville
Lord Mountbatten
Prince Thumb’s godfather Sir Laurens van der Post
I mean… What exactly did Saville and Chuck get up to in Glencoe??
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/29/jimmy-savile-behaviour-prince-charles
Andrew isn’t the only one they covered for.
I find it fascinating that they say “Kate Middleton, Prince William, King Charles and other members” … In what bizarre world does the king get listed after commoner married-in?
Does it reflect that they see Charles as dead man walking?
It’s just SEO. Kate gets more clicks than the others.
So let me get this right, they’re rocked by the consequences of Andrew’s actions?
But his assaults on trafficked children and financial crimes are all just what happened, business as usual for a royal born?
Toss them all out-rotted to the core.
Could be similar as Al Capone, they got him on tax evasion rather than being a thug. It is what they can prove in court.
@sunniside Exactly what I think they’re doing. They will go with whatever they can prove and get a conviction.
so I think this line is the real problem for the Windsors – “questions about accountability and privilege.”
Part of what makes the whole Epstein enterprise so…..sordid, i guess (I can’t think of the right word) is that it brings to light that rich, powerful people really do live in a different world than the rest of us, a world in which there is no accountability, but lots of privilege. the lack of justice for these victims is reminding us that there is rarely justice for victims of the wealthy and powerful.
And that just carries right over to the Windsors. We’ve talked on here a good deal about how William has never been held accountable for anything in his life. Maybe he’s not doing what Andrew did (as far as we know), but he still lives in that different world with Epstein’s associates, a world with privilege and no accountability.
If he doesn’t want to work he doesn’t work. He still gets his 30 million a year no matter what, regardless of how the economy is doing in England (I know the actual dollar amount can vary but you get my point.) If he just wants to go to Aston Villa match after Aston Villa match, that’s what he’s going to do. If he and Kate want to take 10 months off a year, that’s what they’re going to do.
And that’s without getting into how he is as a person, how he treats others, whether he has hurt someone else etc. If he ever sexually assaulted a woman, would we know about it? What accountability would there be? Zero.
And I think that’s what this Andrew mess is making clear, and I think that’s a huge problem for the Windsors. Until they can prove that they live in the real world with the rest of us, a world with consequences, with risk, with accountability – this problem is just going to grow.
Unfortunately once Will is King he actually becomes immune from prosecution and presumably could get away with murder!! There is REAL disgust over here for paedophiles and sex trafficking amongst the wealth and privileged elite is a crime that can not go unpunished. Windsors can’t just brush Andrew under an expensive carpet and hidden out of sight retaining a lot of wealth and privilege. King is immune from prosecution but Andrew isn’t, nor should he be. Windsors can’t be complacent in the wake of Andrew being arrested and an investigation being undertaken. I think this could be the beginning of the end for the Windsors because Will is a very problematic man as discussed in the latest Celebitchy podcast. To survive Windsors need an exceptional heir who is proactive and a genuine leader. Cometh the hour cometh the man but instead we have an angry, panicky and stupid who is easily capsized in a crisis.
Well said, both of you. And as I recall from Charles’ one statement, their plan is to continue on, business as usual. HUGE mistake.
First, I’m so happy to see this for Charles and Camilla. The fact that Charles hasn’t known peace since being crowned brings me such joy. Maybe if he had kept the good wife providence handed him and been anything like a father to the two sons she bore him, and hadn’t squandered it all on cosplaying a used tampon, things would have gone differently for the Windsor clan. But Charles chose to devote himself to living inside the floppy vagina of his Queen, and now the monarchy is in the shit. Oh well.
Second, I don’t think I’ve ever seen William singing in church with such religious piety. I dare say, he might actually be singing the song this time instead of begrudgingly mouthing the words like usual. I predict that we will begin seeing more of this type of religious performance from a newly-devout and pious, re-born Christian William and Kate very, very soon.
Cries of “What did you know?” should plague Charles and William to the end of their days.
Absolutely!!
‘If’ people knew ‘stuff’, Jobson? Really? Of course they did! Shoot, the FO had been informing the Home Office about Andrew at least as early as 2001! All those RPOs, all those BP employees who facilitated visits for his little friends, his MOTHER the QUEEN, his siblings, they all knew!