Amid Coronation Festivities, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories Target the British Royal Family

Festivities are well underway for the coronation of King Charles III on May 6th, 2023, coming just two days before Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), which marks the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II in Europe. But despite the pomp and circumstance of the first coronation in 70 years, the darkness of antisemitic conspiracy theories surrounding the British royal family swirls on social media.

The British monarch is a purely ceremonial role, as policy is determined by the political parties elected to Parliament and by the government. However, despite its lack of governing authority, the British royal family is the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, often tainted with antisemitism. One common allegation is that the royal family is part of the Illuminati or powerful, sinister forces that control the world.

Also frequently mentioned in connection with the British Royals are the Rothschilds, a long-established and successful Jewish family that frequently figures in antisemitic tropes and is often used as a symbol of global Jewish control.

The conspiracy theories tend to manifest in 3 different ways:

1. The Rothschilds control King Charles and the British royal family.

2. King Charles is actually a member of the Rothschild family.

3. The British royal family and the Rothschild family are part of a group of several actors who control world affairs, known as the Bilderberg Group.

According to this conspiracy theory, one of the alleged group actors are the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order who are supposedly secret Jews who reject Christ. This theory claims that the Jesuits set up the Roman Catholic Church and currently control the Vatican through Pope Francis, who is Jesuit — another antisemitic conspiracy theory woven into overarching theories about the British monarch being controlled by Jews or being secretly Jewish themselves.

Defeating hate isn’t a one-time task — in every generation, hatred takes new forms. The victory against Nazi Germany may have spelled the end of the Holocaust, but not the end of antisemitism. Jews are still accused of masterminding world affairs and manipulating state actors, including the British royal family.

Pre-World War II, antisemitic conspiracy theories were promoted through newspapers and radio, to disastrous effect. Today, those who seek to spread hate have access to tools that are more sophisticated and capable of reaching far more people than ever, including social media platforms, which are fertile ground for the spread of hate speech and antisemitism. With such wide-reaching platforms at their disposal, we must do more to counter hate.

CyberWell is taking a central part in fighting the spread of online Jew-hatred, and we urge you to join us by reporting antisemitic content on our platform at app.cyberwell.org.