God save the Queeen ('cause tourists are money')

The Sex Pistols en route for their 1977 jubilee celebrations

This weekend's Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations are a good excuse to remind us that not everyone in Britain cares or is proud of the royal family and what they symbolise. In 1977, the punk group Sex Pistols organised their very own 'boat trip' down the river Thames, which was a way of  mocking the official one the Queen and her troupe had planned for a couple of days later. As you can imagine, that trip ended in chaos when the police intervened but the Pistols' song God Save the Queen became a major hit, outselling more 'respectable' and 'serious' artists.This is all the more interesting since it is important to remember that this song became the most heavily censored record in British history, according to music critic Alex Petridis. Predictably enough, the BBC and most independent radios refused to air the song.
People may or may not like the Sex Pistols (and I'm not a huge fan either, specially considering some of the group's members latest media antics) but it is undeniable that the sight of a punk group playing Anarchy in the UK outside the Houses of Parliament  and openly criticising monarchy is a refreshing one, which takes an even bigger significance now that the whole establishment (from bankers to politicians and other vampires) has been exposed over and over again as rotten to the core.It certainly takes guts and determination to expose the monarchy, and everything they represent, on a boat trip bound to incense and infuriate the elites and their acolytes.
No doubt, this weekend the 'real' national anthem will be played a few times, the Queen will be politely praised and thanked for her services to the nation and all that boring ritual that follows but an ever-growing number of  people will also look back to 1977 and wonder once again what is the point of such an outdated and elitist institution.