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As leader of the Scottish Green Party, Lorna Slater attended three official ceremonies to honor the death of Queen Elizabeth II, including a state funeral.
But he will not go to the coronation of King Charles III.
Paying final respects to a revered queen is one thing, she said, although the funeral sometimes “looks like a movie from ‘Game of Thrones.'” But the lavish coronation ceremony for King Charles, Ms. “It’s really repellent when you have a family that can’t provide for their children.”
With the crown passed from Queen Elizabeth to her less popular son, the British monarchy faces tests across the country, but not in Scotland. Pro-independence sentiment has long simmered there alongside ambivalence about the royal family: affection in some, frustration in others and, perhaps most troubling for the monarchy, a growing apathy.
In one poll, almost three-quarters of people asked in Scotland said they did not care about the coronation, and less than half thought England should continue with the monarchy. In interviews, some Scots echoed Ms Slater’s concerns about the cost-of-living crisis spreading across British households, but while some bemoaned the inequality symbolized by the crown, others said the royal family was a national heritage and helped drive business.
According to John Curtice, a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and a leading pollster in England, surveys in Scotland show support for the crown about 10 to 15 percentage points lower than in England, partly because of the large and polarized constitutional debate in the country. Scottish independence.
“Scotland is different, and the non-trivial reason why Scotland is different is that people who are in favor of independence often oppose the monarchy,” he said.
“The crown is a British institution and people who don’t want to be part of England tend to say, ‘No, we don’t, thank you very much,'” he added.
Scotland does not appear to be close to another decision on independence. In 2014, the people of Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom, and the prospect of a second referendum – which could open the door to an independent republic – has recently faded, amid a funding scandal involving the pro-independence Scottish National Party, which leads. government in Edinburgh.
However, there are signs of a stirring debate. Speaking about 70 opponents of the monarchy in a recent event, Ms. Slater said that on the day of the coronation, May 6, he would attend a rally for the Scottish republic in Edinburgh along with another party leader, Patrick Harvie.
In the same event, he also talked about spurning the invitation. “I told you that I had washed my hair,” said Mr. Harvie, who was shaved, to loud applause.
John Hall, treasurer of Our Republic, the anti-monarchy group, described Charles as “unpopular” and the new king’s scandal-hit brother Prince Andrew as “hated”. He added that, for the enemy of the crown, “things are moving in a positive direction.”
Perhaps more worrying for the royal family is the indifference the polls are showing, especially among young people. Glasgow has not applied to close roads or issue temporary entertainment licenses for coronation street parties, according to Scottish media.
The Scottish Government will be represented at the coronation by Humza Yousaf, who recently replaced Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s first minister, following her shock resignation as SNP leader.
But while his predecessors were careful not to alienate independence supporters who favored the monarchy, Mr. Yousaf described himself as a republican.
Until the date clashed with the coronation, he had planned to attend a pro-independence rally in Glasgow organized by a group called All Under One Banner, which broke up. explained Charles is “Not the King of Scotland.“
Even Kate Forbes, the more socially conservative runner-up to Mr Yousaf, sounded ambivalent in a TV debate in March. Asked if he would prefer King Charles or Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis star, as head of state for an independent Scotland, he said: “In the long run, I think it’s a question for the people of Scotland, but I’m a big fan of Andy Murray.”
However, the royal family maintains strong ties to Scotland, and when Queen Elizabeth died at Balmoral Castle, an estate in the remote and spectacular Scottish countryside that she loved, some believe she chose to end her days there to help bind her nature. Tens of thousands of Scots paid their respects as his coffin traveled to Edinburgh, where it lay in state before being flown to London.
Royalists in Scotland consider the monarchy as Scottish as English. In 1603, after Elizabeth I died, James VI of Scotland succeeded her, becoming James I of England. An official union was held after a century in 1707.
In Ballater, near Balmoral, several events are planned to mark the coronation, including balls, concerts, pipe band performances and picnics.
Wendy Cobban, who runs the Brakeley Gift Room with her husband and has helped organize the celebrations, said the royal family had an interest in the community and was important to the economy. “They keep us all working, let’s face it, work in Balmoral or the estates or the ones that benefit from the tourism that attracts them,” he said.
Across the street at HM Sheridan’s butcher, co-owner John Sinclair sells the memorial coronation sausage, with pork, plum, ginger and hoisin sauce.
“It has a sweet taste, but it has a kick with the ginger at the end, so it’s a good sausage,” said Mr Sinclair, who supplies Balmoral Castle, has met many royals, including the king, and counts Princess Anne among them. occasional customers.
“He’s partial to smoky pork sausage,” Mr. Sinclair said.
Locals tend to leave the royal family unscathed. “When they come, I just treat them as normal, I don’t go up to bow and scraping,” said Delane Morrison-Wallace, manager of the Treehouse gift shop. He said he had reservations about the monarchy, but also benefited: “I know it’s a ridiculous concept – of course – but I see that they do a lot for charities and causes and small places like this.”
In Glasgow, the mood is mixed, reflecting the generational divide and the history of different religions in the city, which is still shown to support the rival football teams: Celtic (traditionally Roman Catholic and anti-monarchy) and Rangers (Protestant and union supporters). with English).
At the Bristol Bar, where many Rangers fans have gathered, owner Greg Wylie plans to surround the building with a giant English flag on coronation day.
Mr Wylie said sectarian divisions had diminished significantly over the decades, but the team had a distinctive identity. “We’re an English club, which doesn’t make us any less Scottish – we’re against everything about independence,” he said. “Charles has taken over, we will continue, we will have a day for the coronation and take it from there.”
A few miles down the downtown mall, William Russell, a retired landscape gardener, hailed the king as an ambassador for the country and said he would watch the coronation, expecting “a spectacular event.”
But outside, Charlize Ellis, a 19-year-old student, said she had no time for the monarchy, which she said was out of touch with her generation.
“I don’t really care about the palace,” he said, adding that there is a clear contrast “when you see things like the coronation of a king when people are struggling to heat their homes.”
Asked about her coronation day plans, Ms. Ellis was tight-lipped. “I didn’t even know it at the time,” she said.
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