King Charles presented with Scottish jewels amid protest

By Mehmet Solmaz

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AA) - In a ceremony to mark his coronation, Britain’s King Charles was presented with Scotland's crown jewels in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

He received the crown and scepter which form part of the Honors of Scotland.

Hundreds of protestors were also present near the site of the ceremony, calling for the abolishment of the monarchy.

The list of festivities in the capital included a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Giles' Cathedral, a People's Procession, a Royal Procession, a 21-gun salute, and a flypast by the Red Arrows of the Royal Air Force.

The Scottish government has confirmed it will be paying for the costs associated with the coronation ceremony, including the £22,000 ($28,000) bill for a specially-made ceremonial sword, named The Elizabeth.

The newly made sword was commissioned to replace the sword gifted to James IV by Pope Julius in 1507, which can no longer be used due to its fragile condition.

Reports show that the Scottish government spent around £19 million ($24 million) on events associated with Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, which was later reimbursed by the Treasury.

- Protestors hold ‘Not My King’ placards

Ben Clinton, a member of the UK-wide anti-monarchy group Republic, thinks the monarchy has no place in today’s Britain.

“We’re protesting the fact that Charles is coming here, because the monarch in our opinion is undemocratic, it encourages inequality in the society economically and through legal terms because you have the monarchy who are getting exemptions from the laws,” Clinton said.

Grant Mair, an Edinburgh resident who left his daily routine to attend the protest, said the idea of having a monarchy is an undemocratic system from the core.

“We’re protesting against the presence of a monarchy in what is supposed to be a democratic country. Charles is king because his ancestors were more violent than mine or yours, not any divine right. He has no reason to be there. What we would like to see is an elected head of state, which means if we dislike that head of state, in a few years we could elect a different one,” Mair said.

He disagrees with the royalists’ claim that the monarchy helps the country’s economy by drawing tourists to the country.

“Monarchy actually costs us a lot of money. There’s often this argument that the monarchy brings lots of tourism into the country, brings lots of money in. If you look at France, it’s a republic, it’s got the most tourists in the world … I don’t think we would lose visitors if we didn’t have royal family,” Mair said, adding that the monarchs are exempt from taxes and take “huge amounts” from the state treasury. “I think they’re milking the system.”

Jim Love, another protestor, argues the royal family is far from representing Britain, referring to its history and scandals.

“They don’t represent the British or Scottish public. If you had to choose a family that was representing the UK or Scotland internationally, I don’t think you could come up with a less representative family. When you think of the cost of living and the extreme wealth, the exemptions they have to Scottish legislation on environment and workers’ rights laws, it’s just not right,” Love said.

- ‘Independent Scotland can be real democracy’

Critics say extraordinary amounts of money are being spent on royal ceremonies while the country goes through a cost-of-living crisis.

Prior to the ceremony, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “We are still in the worst cost of living crisis for decades, yet we are about to witness another absurd royal event of pomp and pageantry at the cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Harvie added that the “extraordinary amounts” of public funds had been spent in the past 18 months for royal events — from Jubilee to the Coronation — when so many are struggling to feed their families.

“An independent Scotland can be a real democracy, by abolishing the archaic monarchy and allowing the people of Scotland to choose their head of state,” he added.

Meanwhile, the total bill for the King’s coronation in London in May has also yet to be revealed. Unofficial estimates have suggested it could be as much as £100 million ($127 million).