Anti-Monarchists Wheel Out Guillotine for Queen Email this story

May 31, 2002 11:07 am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Anti-monarchists equipped with a guillotine are to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee with an "Execute the Queen" street party. The gift from the Movement Against the Monarchy (MA'M) to the Queen is a mock-up of the head-chopper used to kill hundreds of French aristocrats after the French Revolution of 1789, including Queen Marie Antoinette.

The idea will make a sharp contrast to the thousands of street parties next week being held to honor the Queen's 50 years on the throne.

Organizers of next Tuesday's anti-royal party in London said although most proponents of direct action against the monarchy tended to be anarchists, they did not expect there to be any trouble at the event.

"It is obviously light-hearted," said MA'M spokesman Richard Brandon. "Obviously no harm is going to come to the Queen."

Elsewhere in Britain, republicans can look forward to a anti-monarchist punk-rock gig in Hereford, western England, and in Scotland anarchic street parties are planned in Glasgow.

Anti-royalists in Wales said their three-day extravaganza would be the biggest party around, republican or monarchist.

"Stuff the Monarchy" in Wales said it would declare a people's republic in a social club in the town of Pontypridd, south Wales, for the duration of the party starting Sunday.