Extinction Rebellion can reveal today that Windsor Great Park in Berkshire – one of the monarch’s many residencies – will be the location of a three-day mass occupation called ‘Upgrade Democracy’, which will take place from Friday 30 August to Sunday 1 September.

“This is a call to revolution. The Earth is under threat. It cannot cope with all that we demand of it. It is losing its balance and we humans are causing this to happen.” – Prince Charles from the introduction to his book, Harmony.

WHY WINDSOR GREAT PARK?

King Charles clearly understands the plight of the planet and the urgent need for society to change course. As Prince of Wales he actively spoke out about climate change and environmental destruction. Now that he is King, he is expected to be less vocal about the emergency as it is seen as too “political” even though he spoke frankly at COP28 about the peril of our own survival due to climate and ecological collapse. [1]

Our occupation at Windsor will not be targeting a person, it will target the system. A system where money and power is concentrated in the hands of a few. And where the influence of powerful business interests have corrupted our politics with their denial and delay, ensuring the obscene profits of oil and gas companies keep rolling in even while the planet burns.

Commenting on today’s announcement Catherine Bartlett of Extinction Rebellion UK said: “Windsor Castle has been chosen as an embodiment of a broken and unjust system where our message will resonate powerfully. The general election has neither fixed our broken system nor addressed the urgent action needed to tackle the climate and nature emergency[2].”

“Aristocrats, oligarchs and corporate interests have infected and distorted our politics and media for their own benefit and at our expense. Our politics is failing us from top to bottom. It’s time for a democratic upgrade. We demand better at all levels; from the head of state to local councils but our central demand is for a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice, which is needed more urgently now than ever before.”

Windsor Castle is just a few miles from Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215 instituting the right to trial by jury. It was the start of a fairer, more inclusive system, and Extinction Rebellion wants to carry the work that was started hundreds of years ago into the future by updating our democracy so that it  meets the demands and needs of our world today. 

WHY “UPGRADE DEMOCRACY”?

The purpose of XR UK’s mass occupation of his majesty’s lawns and gardens is to advance our Third Demand [3] that The Government must create and be led by a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice.

Only the common sense of ordinary people will help us navigate the challenging decisions ahead and circumvent the influence of the lobbyists and corporate donors. Everyday people have the right to be included in making the decisions that affect their lives. We need to Upgrade Democracy and ensure this process involves learning, listening, collaborating, and making decisions together for the common good. 

Read more about citizens’ assemblies here.

CORRESPONDENCE

XR UK initiated correspondence with King Charles on 13 June, informing the sitting monarch of our plans and requesting he do all he can to help facilitate our peaceful protest:

“On the weekend of 30th August to 1st of September we will bring thousands to your door in Windsor to protest at the failure of our government to act on the science of climate changeand ecological collapse.

“Government failure is baked into our broken political system; without a radical upgrade of democracy our politicians will just fail us again and again. Money and power needs to be removed from politics so we can decisively tackle the crisis faced by life on earth. 

“We refuse to bequeath a dying planet to future generations by failing to act now. 

“We act in peace, with ferocious love of these lands in our hearts. We act on behalf of life.”[4]

WHAT WILL UPGRADE DEMOCRACY LOOK LIKE?

Upgrade Democracy will be a peaceful event characterised by creativity and the harnessing of our collective intelligence. Activities will include a f*UNFAIR and a mass community assembly about which more details will follow soon. There will also be outreach, art-blocking, workshops, music and speakers.

His Majesty and all people of good hearts and good conscience are invited to join us for three days of beauty, community, action and democracy. The occupation will unite everyday people fighting for climate justice, global justice, social justice, and justice for nature, to demand an upgrade to our democratic system.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:
The image of Windsor Castle is by David Liff. Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
[1] King Charles urges rapid environmental repair at COP28, 01 December 2023: https://www.reuters.com/world/britains-king-charles-push-global-action-climate-cop28-speech-2023-12-01/
[2] XR UK General Election Response: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2024/07/05/extinction-rebellion-announces-mass-occupation-as-general-election-result-called-declaring-we-need-to-upgrade-our-democracy-not-just-change-the-government/
[3] XR UK’s Demands: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/about/
[4] Please contact the press team to see the full correspondence.
[5] About citizens’ assemblies: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/decide-together/citizens-assembly/

About Extinction Rebellion

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a decentralised, international and politically non-partisan movement using nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

Donate | Support our work
What Emergency? | Read about the true scale of the climate crisis
Why Citizens’ Assemblies? | Breaking the political deadlock
XR UK Local Groups | View a map of all local groups
XR UK website | Find out more about XR UK
XR Global website | Discover what’s going on in XR around the globe

Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate and ecological crisis which is upon us, including the sixth mass species extinction, global pollution, and increasingly rapid climate change. If urgent and radical action isn’t taken, we’re heading towards 4˚C warming, leading to societal collapse and mass loss of life. The younger generation, racially marginalised communities and the Global South are on the frontline. No-one will escape the devastating impacts.