Leaders of the five main political parties in Northern Ireland traveled to London to attend the coronation of Charles III. In Belfast, only one community celebrated this transfer of power followed by the whole world.
From our special correspondent in Belfast,
Some Protestants choose to come and watch the ceremony with the tourists in front of the town hall where a giant screen has been installed. ” I work in West Belfast and over there, we keep a low profile on this sort of thing. We have to, that’s how we grew up and it’s still the same. I think people always have extreme opinions. Me, I say that there are idiots on both sides. The royal family shouldn’t be divisive, just like it shouldn’t have been divisive in the 70s when I was little “.
For some loyalists, this day is on the contrary an opportunity to show themselves united against the Republicans and nationalists. ” My name is Dickson, presents a pensioner, covered with the red and blue flag of the United Kingdom. We’ve been coming every Saturday for 10 years to put our flag on the gate because Sinn Fein and the Alliance party took it down, it’s only allowed on special days, like today… Fifteen days per year, the flag of our country! »
” We don’t need a monarchy anymore »
For Anne, the Northern Irish are more loyal to the crown than some English or Scottish, but we still feel a concern that did not exist a few years ago, when Protestants were still the majority in Northern Ireland.
Some pass in front of the screen without paying attention or with a sigh, like Luke, a 24-year-old who stops to smoke a cigarette. ” I am Protestant and therefore come from this community, but even I find it a waste of time, he criticizes. We don’t need a monarchy anymore, they don’t do much, so I don’t see why our taxes are wasted on them. In Belfast there is plenty of land that has been abandoned for years and that money could have been used to build houses and get people off the streets. We could have funded the NHS, the police, the fire brigade, but that’s just my opinion “, adds the young man.
A few feet away, Cassie heard Luke’s response, and wants to react too. ” I think they are full of hatred towards a symbol that does them no harm, he believes. Tradition is important, it is the monarchy that makes us unique and the world is watching this event. He will be a great king and he will strengthen communities. I’m very happy to say I live in the UK and Northern Ireland is one of them “.
For loyalists, the big question is whether Charles III will in turn succeed in uniting this very divided Kingdom, as his mother Elizabeth II did.
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