Having just finished reading Smith’s excellent ‘Abolish the Monarchy’ two points struck me. First, his well-argued case that desperately needed, broader constitutional reform and republicanism are closely related. Second, but less positively, I was disappointed at Smith’s failure to draw attention to the freethinking, secularist historical roots of the modern republican movement. Admittedly Republic’s foundation by National Secular Society members is mentioned, but the roots of modern republicanism go so much deeper and the role of personalities such as Thomas Paine, Richard Carlile, Charles Bradlaugh, and those they inspired, deserve more attention. Recognition of such heroic ancestors confers legitimacy on organisations and draws attention to the close relationship between republicanism, freethought, radicalism and secularism. Why else are the Church and Monarchy are so keen to draw attention to their own traditions and past, albeit with appropriate sanitisation?