Two months after King Charles III’s lavish coronation at Westminster Abbey in London, Scotland is ready to host its own event to mark the new monarch’s accession to the throne.
While Charles and Queen Camilla will not be crowned for a second time on Wednesday in Edinburgh, festivities will include a crown, horse-drawn carriages, mounted cavalry and a flyover by Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force’s aerobatic display team, while Scotland celebrates its unique relationship with the monarchy.
The focal point of the event is a thanksgiving service at St Giles Cathedral, where Charles will receive Scottish honours: the crown, scepter and sword of state once used to crown the kings and queens of Scotland. The Stone of Destiny, an important symbol of Scottish identity, will also be moved to the cathedral for the festivities.
The presence of these icons of the Scottish nation is a sign of respect for a country fiercely proud of its history and where the yearning for independence of some has never died, though it has been linked to England and the United Kingdom since 1707. Scotland’s National Government it is run by the Scottish National Party, which is calling for a second independence referendum.
“It’s not a coronation,” said George Gross, a coronation expert at King’s College London. “But it’s very symbolic because Scotland has its own identity to it.”
Wednesday’s events in Edinburgh are a continuation of Charles’ effort to cement ties with the people of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom while trying to show that the 1,000-year-old monarchy is still relevant in modern Britain. Shortly after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last September, Charles visited Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales before attending a state funeral in London.
Just as May’s coronation ceremony gave a nod to Britain’s multicultural nature today, Wednesday’s church service will include a psalm sung in Gaelic. Charles will also receive a new sword made by Scottish craftsmen and named after Elizabeth. The sword will be used in place of the current state sword, which was made in 1507 and is too fragile to be used in ceremony.
But some Scots won’t be celebrating as people across the UK face a cost of living crisis fueled by rising food and energy costs.
The Our Republic group, which campaigns for an elected head of state in Scotland, has scheduled a protest rally outside the Scottish Parliament to coincide with the coronation events.
“The vast majority of Scotland did not mind having a coronation in May, with support for the monarchy at its lowest point in Scotland,” the group said in a statement. “Charles’ perpetual need to celebrate his reign, with all the pomp and pageantry it requires, is a spit in the face of people struggling with the cost of living.”
The coronation festivities will begin in the early evening with a People’s Procession that will travel the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle to St. Giles’ Cathedral. The procession will include over 100 people representing charities and public service groups such as the Scottish Ambulance Service, the Royal Scottish Highland Games Association and the Girls’ Brigade.
The Scottish Honors will follow behind escorted by police and military units.
Soon after, the Household Horse Regiments and a collection of military bands will set out from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the King’s official Edinburgh residence. Charles and Camilla will then leave the palace.
The hour-long Thanksgiving service is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. (13:15 GMT). It will be followed by a 21-gun salute and the Red Arrows flyover.
The festivities will provide an opportunity for royal fans to celebrate Charles’ coronation while also paying tribute to Scotland’s unique history.
Historically an independent country, Scotland was first linked to England in 1603 after the death of Queen Elizabeth I. Because the queen was childless, the crown passed to her cousin James VI, who was already King of Scotland, uniting the two countries under one domain. sovereign.
But Scotland remained independent until 1707 when lawmakers from both countries passed the Act of Union, which created the United Kingdom.
The public festivities are likely to be poignant for Charles, who will stand in roughly the same spot where he stood vigil last year, keeping watch over his mother’s coffin with the Scottish crown resting on its lid.
“I think it would be extraordinary if that didn’t have an impact on him or any human being,” said Gross, a visiting fellow in theology at King’s College London.
“He is very important in bringing the union together, just like after his mother died, after the late queen died, he performed various services in the Union, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, etc. So he’ll be doing the same here. This is putting things together.”
