Salmond rejects King’s Thanksgiving in Edinburgh

The Alba leader said he declined an invitation to attend the special thanksgiving ceremony in Edinburgh.

The King and Queen will be presented with the Scottish honors – the nation’s crown jewels – at a special service at St Giles Cathedral.

Whilst there will be aspects of Scottish royal tradition, the ceremony will also feature new music written for the occasion and will include both a royal and popular procession along the Royal Mile.

The Stone of Destiny will also play a role.

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Mr Salmond said he believes Charles will be the “last king of Scotland” and described the ceremony as “completely misjudged”.

He said, “It will end up satisfying no one, and it has patchy historical legitimacy.”

“A true Scottish monarchist would have loved Charles III. to advise a full coronation at Scone, as did his namesake Charles II in 1651.

“It is no small matter to be crowned King of Scotland and it should be treated as such and not dismissed in some artificial and second-rate ceremony.”

“Charles could have been the first Scottish king to be crowned with the Stone of Destiny since the 13th century and that historical authenticity would have counted for a great deal and more than made up for a minimum of fuss and expense.

“Of course, Scottish kings were expected to take an oath of allegiance to the people, not the other way around.

“I fear Charles is being ill-advised by a group of courtiers who have a great fondness for pageantry and have no understanding of the circumstances.”

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First Minister Humza Yousaf is scheduled to read Psalm 19 at the service, but the two Green Ministers of the SNP Green government have also rejected the ceremony.

Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie have both declined formal invitations to attend the event.

Mr Harvie will attend a Republican rally outside Holyrood.

The Scottish Tories have claimed the two MSPs are engaged in “student politics”.