King Charles has found part of his kingdom under a new title this morning. Part of the United Kingdom, near the Cotswolds, has declared itself a principality after an independence referendum.
The village of Piddington voted overwhelmingly to leave the UK in an independence referendum called after the government announced plans to house over 1,250 asylum seekers at a Ministry of Defence sit near the settlement. The majority of those settled there will be single men aged over 18.
Piddington currently has a population of 358 and local residents say they are concerned they will be overwhelmed by the influx of asylum seekers. Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, has said that middle class and rural areas must take a proportion of immigrants to the UK rather than all of them being found temporary accommodation in cities and predominantly working class parts of the country.
In July, 96% of eligible residents agreed to an independence referendum and the ballot was held on September 15, the anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The results were declared just after 7am on September 16 with 312 ballots cast in total. Of those, 285 voted to leave and 26 chose to stay in the UK with one spoiled ballot paper.
Soon after the declaration was made, Piddington announced it was no longer a village but the independent Principality of Piddington.
However, it is a symbolic gesture as the referendum had no official status and no constitutional implications.
It does, though, mean that the signs around the village, which is in Oxfordshire and close to the Cotswolds, is now surrounded by brand new signs. The ‘yes’ camp were ready for their win and had already had signs reading ”The Principality of Piddington” printed and ready to hang at the entrances to the village.
No Prince or Princess of Piddington has been announced. Principalities are usually headed by a Prince or Princess. In the cases of Monaco, the Prince is the Sovereign and is Head of State. Wales is a Principality but remains part of the United Kingdom although its First Minister recently joined with the leaders o the devolved governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland to say that independence from the UK was a priority.
A Principality is a long established form of government and the word ultimately means ‘position of a prince’, indicating that Piddington will need to choose a leader of some sort as it attempts to establish independence. Sometimes, new states look around for royals who might be interested in governing. In 1905, the newly independent Norway asked a Danish prince called Carl, who was unlikely to inherit a throne of his own, if he would be their new king. After a referendum, insisted on by Carl, he was chosen as monarch and became Haakon VII. His great grandson has just ascended the Norwegian throne as Haakon VIII.
Piddington is unlikely to look for a ruler as the referendum is seen as a protest against the government decision. However, local leaders say they’ve been approached by other areas asking for help in setting out how they make their own protests against policies meaning that King Charles might be waking up more often to small parts of his realm saying they’re no longer in the United Kingdom.
The manor of Piddington was once held by a niece of William the Conqueror who lost it to her own daughter in a royal power struggle which saw her refuse to marry the man the king had chosen for her and flee into exile, only to see her own offspring wed the lord in question and take possession of Piddington. Almost 1000 years later, this little part of Oxfordshire remains on the royal radar as it establishes itself as a Principality.
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