The days since Queen Elizabeth II's death have been nothing if not contentious in the United Kingdom.
As millions mourned the Queen's loss, countless others expressed anger towards the royal family, its history of invasion and colonization and imperialism and the system it still represents—especially among those in countries and peoples the British Crown historically oppressed.
Counting themselves among those groups are many in Scotland.
And some Scottish royal subjects let their distaste be known at a recent football (soccer in the USA and Canada) match in advance of her funeral.
During a game between Scottish teams St. Mirren and Celtic on Sunday, several Celtic fans were heard singing an anti-monarchy song during a moment of tribute to the late Queen.
The gesture of protest left some cheering and others appalled.
\u201cMinute's applause impeccably observed by the Celtic fans.\u201d— GrieveWatch (@GrieveWatch) 1663500253
St. Mirren, the host of the game in Paisley, Scotland announced they would honor the Queen with a "minute of applause" before the game rather than a minute of silence, believed to have been an effort toward drowning out Celtic fans' anti-monarchy cheers.
But Celtic's fans had other plans.
During the applause tribute, they could be heard singing "If you hate the Royal Family clap your hands" to a tune known by anyone familiar with the children's song "If You're Happy And You Know It." They also held up banners bearing the same message.
The incident followed one last Wednesday that was even more pointed. During a match against a Polish team, some Celtic fans held up a banner reading "Fu*k the crown."
Scotland has been home to no shortage of criticism of the Royal Family in the wake of the Queen's passing, with some Scottish people even being arrested for expressing their anti-monarchy views and criticisms of Prince Andrew's dodging of criminal charges for his involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's child sex-trafficking ring.
Scotland has a long history of being subjugated, often violently, by the British crown. In recent years, the Scottish independence movement advocating secession from the United Kingdom has gained increasing steam especially in the wake of Brexit.
The Celtic fans' caught people's attention on Twitter, with many cheering them on.
\u201cThey changed the minute silence for the Queen to a minute applause so Celtic fans didn't disrupt it\n\nThey chanted "If you hate the Royal Family clap your hands" \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\u201d— Khalid Winter (@Khalid Winter) 1663502535
\u201cI think I'm a Celtic fan now\u201d— Tony Huddy (@Tony Huddy) 1663541143
\u201cToday I gave up a lifetime of being a Chelsea fan and became a Celtic fan.\u201d— Just Plain Angry (@Just Plain Angry) 1663541324
\u201cHibs and Dundee United fans set the bar yesterday and Celtic fans have just absolutely wiped the floor \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23 \u201cIf you hate the Royal Family clap your hands\u201d during the minutes applause while the cameras pan across the whole stadium clapping, stroke of genius man \ud83e\udd23\u201d— Babs (@Babs) 1663499497
\u201cCeltic fans with a cracker of an ambush of the minutes applause, an applause that was supposed to ambush them. #STMCEL \ud83d\ude0e\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f \u201d— Stiof\u00e1n na h\u00c9ireann II (@Stiof\u00e1n na h\u00c9ireann II) 1663499648
\u201cenjoying that they've obviously gone for this because a minutes silence wouldn't have worked at all, only for it to give Celtic fans the chance to so something even funnier\u201d— Beav \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f (@Beav \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f) 1663511682
\u201cCeltic fans were asked to applaud for a minute and applaud they did \ud83e\udee1\u201d— Sorcha N\u00ed Nia (@Sorcha N\u00ed Nia) 1663502583
Though some found the protest offensive.
\u201cMinutes applause instead of silence at St Mirren vs Celtic.\n\nCeltic fans sing \u201cIf you hate the royal family clap your hands\u201d\n\nThe dregs of society! \ud83d\ude21\u201d— Hector Pyzer (@Hector Pyzer) 1663499059
\u201cGee \u2026 how impressive #celtic\n\nThe club must be so proud of you !\n\nI am an admirer of this club, but some of their fans \n\nBtw well done #stmirren\u201d— Simon Jordan (@Simon Jordan) 1663510038
\u201cMagnificent applause at Brentford/Arsenal on 70th minute for the Queen, and stirring spontaneous singing of National Anthem. What a contrast to the heartless Celtic fans that chose to mock & taunt a 96yr-old woman who loved Scotland so much.\u201d— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1663504521
A 2014 referendum on the topic of Scottish independence was soundly defeated, but it occurred before the 2016 Brexit vote. Scottish voters overwhelmingly rejected Brexit in a landslide, which still forcibly removed Scotland from the European Union.
Many, including Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, believe a second referendum on Scottish independence would be far more likely to succeed today, though polling shows it still falls slightly short of a majority.
