Sturgeon objected to jubilee book for pupils

Scotland’s government sought 52 changes such as removing reference to ‘Queen Elizabeth II’

NICOLA STURGEON’S government refused to endorse a book for primary children commemorating the Platinum Jubilee, after demanding that mentions of “Queen Elizabeth II”, Brexit and England’s 1966 World Cup victory be removed.

Official emails showed the Scottish Government asked for 52 changes to be made to the draft text of the book, which was meant as a gift for children across the UK, only to disassociate itself from the project.

Ms Sturgeon’s officials made clear to the UK Government and publisher DK Books that “the Scottish Government is not content to be acknowledged at all in the development or production of this book”.

All primary children in England from reception to year six automatically received a copy of the book, titled Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration, but Scottish schools were forced to opt in online if they wanted copies for their pupils. The emails showed the Scottish Government’s curriculum and qualifications division objected to the book using the title Queen Elizabeth II as “she is not the second Queen Elizabeth here”. This was a reference to the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland occurring after the death of Elizabeth I in 1603.

They also protested against the 2002 death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother being described as a “tragedy”, saying this “reads a little tabloid when describing the death of (a) very old lady”.

Brexit should be removed from a timeline of the most significant events that have occurred during the Queen’s reign because it is “highly divisive”, they said.

They argued against the inclusion of England’s 1966 football World Cup victory, saying it was “an event that doesn’t seem to merit this level of exposure – and it’s not that relevant in the non-england parts of the UK”.

Ms Sturgeon’s civil servants also protested against the book mentioning the Queen’s intervention days before the 2014 independence referendum in which she urged Scots to “think very carefully about the future”.

David Cameron, the then prime minister, later disclosed he asked the monarch’s private secretary for her to make a subtle statement to help the Unionist side.

Among the litany of other suggestions SNP government officials made was removing a London tour featuring Buckingham Palace.

The final version of the book included some of their amendments, including stating that the monarch was referred to as “Her Majesty The Queen” rather than “Elizabeth II” in Scotland.

Her independence referendum intervention was also omitted and “tragedy” removed from the reference to the Queen Mother’s death, which instead said she died “peacefully, aged 101”.

But the book included a box explaining Brexit and describing how British passports “went back to being navy blue again” after previously being “burgundy to match the others in the EU”.

The sightseeing tour of London and England’s World Cup victory were also retained, with the text noting that: “The Queen handed the trophy to the captain Sir Bobby Moore.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The book is a UK Government project and they are responsible for its content, development and distribution.

“Scottish Government officials were given sight of drafts and provided feedback to the Department for Education upon request.”