King Charles will receive second crown in Scotland next Wednesday

You might have thought that all of the year’s major royal moments were over… but hold your horses because one more is coming. Scotland will celebrate the accession of King Charles III with its own festivities next Wednesday (4).

The ceremonial events are part of Holyrood Week – also known as Royal Week – which takes place annually and often sees the monarch travel to various regions of the country celebrating Scottish culture, achievements and community.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will be joined by Prince William and Kate, who use their Scottish titles of Duke and Duchess of Rothesay when north of the border.

“Scotland will welcome its new king and queen in July with a series of events to mark the coronation. A People’s Procession, a Royal Procession, a National Service of Thanksgiving and a Salute of Arms will take place in Edinburgh,” Prime Minister Humza Yousaf said in a statement ahead of the event on 5 July.

Yousaf said representatives from various communities and organizations will participate and there will be opportunities for the public to enjoy themselves as well.

The Thanksgiving Service will be held at St. Giles – which many will remember as a stop on the Queen of Balmoral’s final journey back to London last year. There, the Scottish Crown Jewels will be presented to the King.

The most important pieces of the insignia are the crown, scepter and sword – which date back to the early 16th century.

Known as the Honors of Scotland, the pieces are made of gold, silver and precious stones and are Britain’s oldest crown jewels. The crown was first used by James V at the coronation of Queen Marie of Guise in 1540.

Where the solid silver scepter came from is more mysterious. Some believe it was a papal gift from Innocent VIII to James IV in 1494. The items were first used together at the coronation of nine-month-old Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543.

The precious insignia is kept in Edinburgh Castle – but the crown jewels were once stolen from its home for protection by Oliver Cromwell’s army between 1651 and 1660. Much of the English insignia of the time was obliterated during these years and new items had to be commissioned after the restoration of the monarchy.

After the Act of Union in 1707, when the English and Scottish Parliaments were united, the honors were locked away in a chest until their rediscovery in 1818 by the famous novelist Walter Scott, who also found a mysterious silver wand.

Another item that will be present will be the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny – which some royal fans will know as featured in the coronation of Westminster Abbey in early May. The stone, which had been used as a seat at the coronation of Scottish kings for centuries, is now kept in Scotland but was taken to London for Charles’ first big day.

Honors will pass from Edinburgh Castle to St. Giles in a grand People’s Procession with 100 individuals representative of Scottish life and escorted by the King’s Guard for Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers and an honor guard of Armed Forces personnel, as well as the Regiment’s Shetland pony mascot Royal of Scotland, Cape Cruachan IV. As they make their way down the Royal Mile, music will be provided by cadet musicians from the Combined Cadet Force Pipes and Drums, 51 Brigade Cadet Military Band.

There will also be a royal procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the cathedral, supported by the Royal Marine Band (Scotland) and the Pipes, Drums and Bugles of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS). A 21-gun salute from the 12th Regiment of Royal Artillery will sound at the end of the service before the royal procession returns to Holyroodhouse.

George Gross, a visiting scholar in theology at King’s College London, said it would be a “moving moment” for Charles, who stood vigil over his mother’s coffin in the same space less than a year ago.

“This Thanksgiving service is a complex and important event for the monarchy which must, as always, be above politics, even more so in an era of devolution and with the SNP in charge of government in Holyrood,” he said.

“How to combine and respect traditions and symbols of Scottish nationalism, from the Scottish Honors to the Stone of Destiny, in a service of thanksgiving, while avoiding the politics of independence, will be a complex task.”

Source: CNN Brasil

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