IP - In the country's first coronation service in nearly 70 years, Britain's King Charles III was crowned on Saturday along with Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, the site of nearly a millennium of coronations in Britain since 1066.

Iran PressEurope: During the coronation service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop of the Church of England, Charles was crowned with the historical St. Edward's Crown, making him the 40th British monarch to take the traditional Oath of Faithful Service.

Charles ascended the throne last September following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, his long-reigning mother, the only monarch most Britons alive had ever known.

Charles also swore oaths on a special Bible to govern the people with justice and mercy and uphold the churches established by law.

British police early Saturday arrested five "Not My King" protesters, including organizers in central London, and seized hundreds of signs, ahead of the coronation of Britain's King Charles III.

Hours before the historic event, the organizers of the anti-monarchy protest were arrested, the Republic group and Alliance of European Republican Movements (AERM) said on Twitter.

In video footage shared by the AERM, Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic, and Ben Clinton, an organizer from the group, can be seen being arrested by the police.

Anti-monarchy groups are urging the public not to swear allegiance to King Charles III.

People watching the coronation on Saturday will be invited to join a "Chorus of millions" to swear allegiance to the king and his heirs.

However, anti-monarchy campaigners decried the call and said it should be ignored.

Ben Clinton, an organizer of the anti-monarchy Republic group, said asking the public to swear allegiance to Charles "makes no sense."

Describing it as a "ridiculously poorly timed call," he said: "We're not here to serve him."

Citing a recent poll on British public support for the monarchy, Clinton said the last 12 months had seen "a massive uptick” in people who say the monarchy should be abolished.

Britain is "certainly" closer than ever to the idea of abolishing the monarchy, he said.

"We're trying to push the debate forward," added Clinton, who is also the campaign coordinator of Labour for a Republic group.

Touching on Saturday's coronation protest, he said their main message would be that people wanted a head of state chosen in a more democratic way.

A poll for ITV News found that support for the monarchy remains high in the over-60 age group, but declined dramatically among young people.

Among the middle-aged — who grew up in King Charles's youth — the monarchy still enjoys majority support at 53%, but for those 34 and under, only 39% support having a king.

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