TAKING THE HIGH ROAD TO HOLYROOD THE QUEEN IS JOINED BY FAMILY FOR A WEEK OF ENGAGEMENTS IN SCOTLAND
The Queen was supported by the Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal as she carried out a week of royal duties in Scotland for the first time since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince William was at his grandmother’s side last week for a day of outings north of the border, which saw the pair visit an Irn-Bru factory and take part in a welcoming ceremony at the monarch’s official Scottish residence. The warm rapport between the pair was clear to see and Her Majesty looked delighted to be in her grandson’s company, beaming broadly as they chatted.
Later in the week, she was joined by her daughter Princess Anne on engagements that included meeting beekeepers in an urban oasis and viewing miniature satellites that are to be blasted into space.
Her Majesty’s trip marked Royal
Week – or Holyrood Week – and her visits to businesses, charities and cultural institutions were a celebration of “Scottish community, innovation and history”, Buckingham Palace said. It was the first time she had been to Scotland – a place where she and Prince Philip spent many happy summers during their 73- year marriage – since the Duke’s death in April.
However, as has often been the case since Philip’s retirement in 2017, the 95- year- old monarch’s family was happy to step in to keep her company on her duties.
The Queen’s week kicked off with a tour of the AG Barr Soft Drinks factory in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, where the 146-yearold company makes its famous IrnBru soft drink, which rivals whisky as Scotland’s favourite tipple and is hailed as a hangover cure.
A REFRESHING CHANGE
Wearing a cheerful sky-blue coat and hat with her pearl trefoil brooch, she officially opened a new process facility, while William – known as the Earl of Strathearn north of the border – quenched his thirst with a sip of Irn-Bru, declaring: “You can taste the girders in it.”
The royal visitors also met factory staff as they were shown
Her Majesty looked delighted to be in her grandson’s company, beaming broadly as they chatted
around the plant by former chairman Robin Barr, whose great- grandfather Robert had founded the company.
William, 39, who attended St Andrew’s university in Fife 20 years ago, revealed he’d never sampled the drink in his student days but said he’d enjoyed it during his time in the armed forces. On hearing it contains 32 ingredients in a secret recipe known only to three people, he said: “I’m trying to guess what’s in it, but that’s quite hard, isn’t it?”
“I’d love to tell you,” upstream manager Colin Reilly told him, but added: “This is a closely guarded secret.”
Grandmother and grandson then headed to Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh for the Ceremony of the Keys –the Queen’s traditional welcome by Lord Provost Frank Ross, who offered her the keys of the city.
INSIDE HOLYROODHOUSE
In the forecourt of the palace, Her Majesty – having changed her brooch to the regimental badge of the Royal Regiment of Scotland – inspected a Guard of Honour by the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment before heading inside to chat to first responders, volunteers and key workers about their roles during the pandemic.
Edinburgh council worker Mollie Grant said: “Prince William particularly was asking about small children bursting in on team calls.”
The Queen usually hosts a garden party at the palace during Holyrood Week, but it was cancelled, as last year, because of the pandemic. However, she did receive a visit from Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, seen as part of a royal charm offensive to save the union.
“It’s great to see you in person after so long,” the SNP leader told her. “It’s lovely to have you back here.”
Meanwhile, William was reminded of his grandfather during a solo visit to BAE Systems’
Shipyard on the River Clyde at Glasgow to mark the start of construction of Royal Navy warship HMS Belfast. “He would have been fascinated and excited to see such advances in skills and technology being put into practice,” said William, who also met apprentices building HMS Glasgow and announced that his wife the Duchess is the ship’s sponsor and will officially name her.
The Princess Royal joined the Queen midweek as mother and daughter met gardeners and beekeepers at The Children’s Wood Project in Glasgow, a dedicated green space designed to connect local people with nature and bring the community together.
They chatted to children involved in the project’s forest school and Her Majesty, in a royal-blue Stewart Parvin coat, matching
silk dress, hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan and Prince Albert brooch, was handed a jar of honey. However, she politely declined one of the marshmallows the youngsters were toasting on a firepit, saying: “No, that’s very kind of you.”
They also visited two neighbouring companies at Skypark, Spire and AAC Clyde Space, where the Queen was shown a miniature satellite the size of a whisky bottle, which will forecast the weather and monitor maritime traffic and the environment.
“That goes into space? It is very small,” she remarked. “It is very interesting and innovation keeps changing all the time. The miniaturisation is fascinating.”
The Queen’s four-day visit to Scotland also included a visit to Stirling Castle to reopen The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ Museum and ended at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI), where she and Anne arrived and left in an electric hybrid Range Rover. Her Majesty then returned to Windsor Castle, where she held an audience with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.
The Queen’s engagements were a celebration of ‘Scottish community, innovation and history’