This May will mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the controversial Sex Pistols hit “God Save the Queen,” a raging punk anthem that blasts the British monarchy as a “fascist regime.” But now the singer behind the hit seems to have something of a soft spot for the sovereign.
“I will sorely miss her as a human being on Planet Earth,” said John Lydon, better known by his stage name Johnny Rotten, in a recent interview, reported the Daily Telegraph newspaper Thursday. “It is not her fault she was born into a gilded cage. … Long may she live. I don’t know about the ’reign’ part, but long may she live.”
It’s not just the reigning royal, that the punk rocker seems to fancy, however. Mr. Lydon also said in the same interview that he “loved that last [royal] wedding,” the Telegraph reported, presumably that of Prince William to Kate Middleton.
Polling data have shown 34-year-old William, the second-in-line to the throne, to be more popular than his father, although neither are as popular as Elizabeth, who turns 91 in April and who entered the 65th year of her reign in February.
And while Mr. Lydon may still wish to do away with the monarchy, he’s in the minority among his countrymen.
In 2015, prior to her surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning British monarch, a poll conducted by YouGov found 68 percent of Britons agree that the monarchy is good for the country.
The same poll found that 62 percent of Brits agreed that the hereditary monarchy was going to exist in 100 years’ time, long after Charles and William sit on the throne.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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