The Divine Right to Rebel The very un-Civil Wars and the Execution of Charles I Anne Reynolds Anne Reynolds graduated with an MA in Creative Writing in 2013. She chose the University of Westminster because the focus of the MA was not simply on different genres of writing; at its heart lies London itself in all its magnificent, whimsical, and monstrous guises.
‘What is a Rebel? A man who says no.’ Albert Camus I feel frustrated when people assume I have a rebellious nature just because I ran away from home at the age of seventeen. It seems to me the obvious, non-violent response to injustice and emotional abuse. In a similar vein, I can recall regularly walking out, or remaining seated, as the national anthem was played in the Gerrards Cross ‘flea pit’ at the end of a film. It was ridiculous to expect people to stand to attention like puppets just because of a bit of music, and anyway, why should I? Just because the famous ballet dance mistress, Madame Vacani, had taught me the royal curtsey, it didn’t necessarily mean I was ready to use it. Class discrimination and deference were departing from postwar Britain faster than a slug in a stream of salt, but there were also some entertaining skirmishes between ardent monarchists and those of us who were burgeoning socio-political protesters. Bob Dylan echoed this sense of turmoil in his 1964 album title track, The Times They are a-Changin’: ‘As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Wil later be last For the times they are a-changin.’ This is the salutary tale of what can happen to you when you listen to your own hype and 19
