On Friday 9 April 2021, the Royal Family released a statement announcing the death of HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99. Following the announcement, crowds began to gather outside royal residences such as Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, to lay flowers and pay their respects to the deceased royal. In doing so, many broke the Covid-19 regulations put in place by the government by travelling outside their local area and meeting in large groups before the relaxation of the rules on Monday 12 April, 2021.
Despite the palace and government urging people not to gather outside royal residences, encouraging them to instead, make a donation to a charity of their choice, crowds still arrived in their masses, armed with flowers and other tributes. On the day of the Duke’s funeral, Saturday 17 April 2021, yet more crowds formed outside St. George’s Chapel in Windsor despite the communications published during the period of national mourning.
The events that began to unwind began to echo those which occurred last month in the wake of Sarah Everard’s kidnapping and death. Despite the family and the organisation Reclaim These Streets cancelling the vigil at Clapham Common, deciding to host virtual events and fundraise for women’s causes instead, many still gathered to pay their respects to Sarah Everard, her family, and anyone who had ever been a victim of gender-based violence.
“The handling of the crowds by the Metropolitan Police has differed significantly between the two events, despite the extremely similar circumstances”
The death of an individual should not be an excuse for many to break Covid-19 regulations, whether that be a member of the Royal Family or a woman brutally murdered when simply walking home at night. It was wrong for people to gather at the vigil on March 13 after being told to not attend due to the risks, but it is wrong for people to continuously gather outside Buckingham Palace, regardless of how high profile the deceased Prince Philip may be. What makes me most angry, however, is how each situation has been dealt with.
The handling of the crowds by the Metropolitan Police has differed significantly between the two events, despite the extremely similar circumstances – the death of an individual and people wanting to mourn at a specific location, despite the family urging them not to.
Whilst the Met Police gathered in their masses outside Buckingham Palace, mounted on horses and armed, however, many idly stood by and made no attempt to disperse crowds outside royal residences, allowing mountains of flowers to build up outside palace gates. But when it came to the vigil for Sarah Everard, the police began to violently attack women peacefully mourning at Clapham Common.
What began as a peaceful memorial for a woman violently killed several weeks prior, was handled inappropriately by the Met Police, from the process of planning the event to dealing with those who attended, despite communications telling them not to. Everything was peaceful, calm and COVID-19 secure as sympathisers began to arrive at Clapham Common, armed with sanitiser, masks and homemade signs, until the police arrived and violence broke out – with officers detaining and oppressing women – which was highlighted on social media platforms and through the mainstream media.
“Surely if violence was the best way to handle the scenes at the vigil, why did we not seen the same scenes outside Buckingham Palace?”
There was no excuse for the actions of the police at the vigil, despite them claiming that they correctly handled the event. Surely if violence was the best way to handle the scenes at the vigil, why did we not seen the same scenes outside Buckingham Palace?
How can the Met Police allow mourners of the Duke to gather but not those for Sarah Everard? Just because he was a member of the royal family does not mean his mourners should be granted special treatment – but that is exactly what has happened.
Are the police even aware of their contradictory ways? Probably not. Some could argue that they have learnt from their mistakes and that is why the Duke’s mourners are not being handled in the same violent way, but when they are claiming that no mistakes had ever been made, I highly doubt this.
If we tried to give the police the benefit of the doubt and suggest that they are handling mourners of the Duke with sensitivity, then where was this sensitivity for Ms Everard’s mourners? Especially when she was killed by a Met officer.
Women are still angry following Sarah Everard’s death and the national movement for female safety is still flourishing. However, now that the Duke’s funeral has come and gone and the national mourning period has come to an end, perhaps the police will step up and remove crowds as we see the news drift back to other topics.
They still have time to redeem their actions, but it seems that they will continue to act in their contradictory ways.
Lauren Taylor
Photo courtesy of James Eades on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.