Edinburgh (UK).- Charles III of England today received the Honors of Scotland in a massive and solemn ceremony, where he was presented with the thousand-year-old Scottish royal relics -the crown, scepter and sword- to culminate in the process of his coronation as British monarch .
At St Giles Cathedral, in the heart of Edinburgh, the same one that fired the late Elizabeth II of England last year, signed the enthronement of her son, Carlos III, and the queen consort Camila and, with it, the continuity of the Windsor dynasty.
The main act of his coronation in Westminster Abbey in London in May was followed today by the delivery of the crown of Scotland, his scepter and the sword of State to the new king, thus emulating the liturgy that his mother staged in 1953 Elizabeth Elizabeth II and her fatherPhilip of Edinburgh.
Before the ceremony, the Honors were carried in a black Rolls Royce escorted by the Royal Company of Archers to the cathedral from Edinburgh Castle, accompanied by the sound of Scottish bagpipes and some boos from anti-royalists strategically assembled at its entrance.
Gathered around a large yellow flag with “Not my King” inscribed, in the vicinity of the cathedral the protesters made visible their opposition to the monarchy: “What a waste of money!”, read .
“The monarchy is an anachronism, it should not exist in the 21st century,” Neil Brown, one of the protesters, told EFE. “We shouldn’t be spending money on this when people are suffering,” he added.
The same space was shared by loyalists to the British crown, who responded to anti-monarchist chants: “God save the king”, “Charles, King of Scots”, they proclaimed.
“I am very proud that the king is here today,” Janet Donald, who confesses to being a monarchist and unionist, told EFE. “We can’t do it alone, he will help us,” she said.
HONORARY LITURGY
The jewels, originating from the 16th century and of incalculable value, entered the cathedral guarded by an honor guard made up of representatives of the Navy, the Army and the Aviation.
The first time they were used together was at the enthronement of Mary I of Scots (1543) and they are the oldest in Great Britain.
The liturgy also included a new sword full of symbolism, with the name of Elizabeth in honor of the mother of the monarch, the longest-reigning queen of the United Kingdom, forged for the occasion.
The Stone of Destiny, emblem of the Scottish kingdom, once again presided over the special ceremony, where the Princes of Wales, William and Catherine, known as Dukes of Rothesay in Scotland, were present.
The royal attendees were joined by a select representation from various spheres and parts of Scotland, one hundred people, in the so-called “People’s Procession”, escorted by the royal Scottish infantry and their mascot, the Shetland pony named Corporal Cuachan IV .
After the ceremony, where the Scottish international soloist Nicola Benedetti together with other distinguished musicians provided the soundtrack to the royal offering, the cannons of Edinburgh Castle sounded in honor of the monarchs Carlos III and Camila, so that afterwards the royal acrobat pilots, Red Arrows, send them off with an air show.
