Just after midday today, members of Republic staged a protest inside Buckingham Palace. The group of local activists from different parts of the UK visited the palace as tourists, before standing in the Grand Hall wearing t-shirts that spelled out "Not My King".

The protest is the latest in a series of actions aimed at pushing forward the debate about the future of the monarchy. With polls showing a sharp drop in support for the royals over recent years, anti-monarchy campaigners are more optimistic than ever before.

Six of the activists involved were briefly detained by security, before being escorted out of the front gate. 

Speaking for Republic, Graham Smith said today:

"This is a first, an anti-monarchy protest inside Buckingham Palace. A fantastic statement of intent, citizens standing up in the home of the monarchy to declare their opposition to hereditary power."

"Charles is not an untouchable monarch, he is not immune to criticism and doesn't enjoy the deference that protected the monarchy while his mother was on the throne."

"Charles is not a unifying figure, he is a hypocrite on the environment, he has questions to answer about cash for honours and dodgy donations from Qataris and he is out of touch the concerns of ordinary people struggling with the cost of living crisis."

"I'm proud of our local activists who came together today to take this stand. Our local campaigns are expanding rapidly, with more than thirty now active around the UK."

"Republic will continue to protest against the monarchy up and down the country, with the next protest set for the state opening of parliament on November 7."

PHOTOS can be found HERE and are copyright Republic.