Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, critics of the monarchy on social media became targets for shaming.
The monarchy, people argued, is purely symbolic. They’re expensive mascots, but other than that, don’t harm anyone. Right?
But in recent days, UK police arrested four people for criticizing royals.
One of the targets was a heckler who called Prince Andrew a “sick old man” before police seized him.
With the Queen gone, nobody likes Prince Andrew.
The accused sexual predator can apparently buy his way out of consequences using his family’s hoarded wealth.
He cannot buy his way out of criticism, however. Apparently, silencing his detractors is a job for police.
“Andrew, you’re a sick old man!” a Scottish heckler yelled during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession on Monday.
The royal procession was escorting the coffin to Scotland’s St. Giles’ Cathedral.
The onlooker, reportedly a young man named Rory, also added: “Disgusting!”
A police officer and others in the crowd apparently pulled the heckler away.
“Oy, I’ve done nothing wrong!” he announced.
True though that may be, police did not stop at silencing him. They also arrested him.
Queen Elizabeth II stripped Prince Andrew of both his royal and military titles earlier this year.
The move, which she made in January, came only after years of campaigning. Various municipalities had already taken symbolic moves against the fallen Duke of York.
In this case, of course, it was to ensure that Andrew would be defending himself in a sexual assault lawsuit as a private citizen. He ended up paying out a $10 million settlement in the matter.
As we mentioned, this Scottish heckler was only one of the arrests surrounding the monarchy.
One was a 74-year-old in Edinburgh. Another was a woman who held up a sign that read: “Abolish the Monarchy.”
And a man in Oxford simply called out a question: “Who elected him?”
Social media cannot help but marvel at the bizarre power that these withered parasites wield.
The royal family is not just a publicly funded, unmoisturized Kardashian family. No one has faced arrest for criticizing Kris Jenner. So far.
It is nauseating to see police protect Andrew from critics. The monarchy has outlived any use that it may have had.