King Charles Told 'Shove Your Coronation Up Your A**' by Soccer Fans

Scottish soccer fans chanted "you can shove your coronation up your a**" in a swipe at King Charles III, who was not present at the time.

Celtic fans filled the 52,000-capacity Hampden Park stadium with the anti-royal song, to the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," during a match against Glasgow rivals Rangers, a team known for being supportive of the British monarchy.

Footage of the chorus of dissent went viral on Twitter after it received 2.8 million views and 17,000 likes.

Twitter account CeltsAreHere wrote "Stick the coronation where?" as the caption of the clip, which was filmed from the stands.

The match, on Sunday, April 30, came less than a week before King Charles' coronation of Saturday, May 6. He inherited the throne from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022.

The Church of England had also encouraged Brits to pledge allegiance to the king during his coronation service. It made the front pages of English newspapers the day before, but not the Scottish ones.

Members of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic have staged a series of protests calling for a democratically elected head of state. Campaigners will hold another on the day of the coronation, on Saturday, May 6.

It is the latest in a line of incidents in which sports fans in Britain have shown their disdain for the monarchy, though the timing here is particularly acute.

William was booed after he attended the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London, in May 2022 by Liverpool football fans in a show of anti-establishment sentiment.

The now-Prince of Wales was targeted again by soccer fans gathered in a pub in Sheffield in July that year. Newsweek was again told this was less about personal animosity towards William and more a stand against the establishment.

Then, when William and Kate Middleton visited Boston with the Earthshot Prize, they were met at a Boston Celtics game by boos and some chants of "U.S.A., U.S.A."

The monarchy has strong ties to Scotland, holidaying at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire each summer.

Charles spoke of Elizabeth II's love for the country in a speech in October: "We gather to celebrate this great occasion but also to commemorate the life of Her late Majesty, whose deep love for Scotland was one of the foundations of her life."

One of the king's fondest projects is also based in Scotland, the regeneration of Dumfries House, in Cumnock, in East Ayrshire.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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