Revealed, frosty SNP emails that tried to derail Royal train trip
WHEN the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge boarded a train to Scotland late last year, they hoped their Christmas visit would bring festive cheer to those battling the coronavirus crisis.
Yet, upon arrival in Edinburgh, they were met with a frosty reception from Nicola Sturgeon.
Now, official correspondence reveals the First Minister’s chilly welcome came after she told them not to come.
Emails between the Royal Household and the Scottish Government shows the couple were advised against their planned trip on December 7.
The First Minister’s team said travel restrictions barred people from moving between local authority areas and also reminded the Royals that travel in and out of the country was banned.
Yet, intent on thanking coronavirus heroes in Scotland, it was advice that the couple ignored.
They thanked staff at the Scottish Ambulance Service who coped with demanding jobs while many were affected by personal Covid tragedies. One 54-year-old paramedic, whose father fell sick and later died, said: ‘It was really heartening to see the royal couple and their thanks mean a lot to us.’
However, emails released under freedom of information show that Ms Sturgeon’s team were concerned that the Duke and Duchess would be breaching restrictions, despite travelling for work.
On November 12, the First Minister’s private secretary, John Somers, wrote to the Royal team: ‘We are currently asking people living in Scotland to avoid unnecessary travel from local authority to local authority and to keep journeys within the area they live to an absolute minimum.’ However, he conceded that their trip would ‘mean a lot to many people’.
On November 19, however, a sterner email was sent to the Royal Household, this time from James Hynd, head of the Scottish Government’s cabinet, parliament and governance division. He said: ‘The Scottish Government is likely to bring forward statutory restrictions on nonessential travel both within Scotland and also into and out of Scotland.
‘This is likely to have a major impact on the plans you are working on.’
The emails might explain why, when the Royal couple arrived in the capital, Nicola Sturgeon failed to agree that the couple’s visit ‘could help boost morale’.
A Scottish Government spokesman later clarified that the First Minister did welcome the couple, saying: ‘The First Minister welcomes the support shown by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for Scotland’s NHS.’