Hansard

It gives me great pleasure to offer on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats our warmest congratulations to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the occasion of their coronation.

If I am honest, I was not always sure what I thought about the institution of monarchy, but the acts of commemoration that marked the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last September reminded me of the example that she set. The memory of her steadfast devotion to the people of these islands reassured me of the value of having a steadying politically neutral influence at the top of our system of Government.

My position, and the position of a great many of our citizens, was summarised succinctly in the words of another who was sat in that ancient abbey on Saturday. In a letter to his fans, who were incredulous at his decision to attend the coronation, legendary Australian musician Nick Cave wrote:

“I am not a monarchist, nor am I a royalist, nor am I an ardent republican for that matter; what I am also not is so spectacularly incurious about the world and the way it works, so ideologically captured, so damn grouchy, as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age. Not just the most important, but the strangest, the weirdest.”

For many people, the coronation was all those things.

There is something unique and strangely comforting about those rights and rituals that have spanned 1,000 years. The second Elizabethan era was marked by the constancy of our late Queen’s reign. Thanks to her, the institution of monarchy is now steeped in the tradition of public service. Indeed, as we have heard from Douglas Ross, the first words that the new King spoke on Saturday were:

“I come not to be served, but to serve.”

In the example of King Charles’s late mother, we can see the promise in those words, and it to his credit that he has sought to emulate that example. Indeed, the King and Queen have already exhibited huge commitment to public service in their previous lives. Combined, they are patrons of more than 900 charities. King Charles has a long and proud history of supporting youth work, something that is very dear to me, and of championing environmentalism. It was he who first publicly warned of the effects of plastic pollution, more than 50 years ago. He also deserves credit for turning down the offer of having Heathrow terminal 5 named after him because of the importance of tackling aviation for the climate emergency.

Our new Queen is also known for her public service, and Her Majesty has done extremely worthwhile work, particularly advocating for the safety and protection of women and girls. In 2013, she established an initiative for providing sexual assault referral centres with wash bags filled with toiletries. That scheme now operates throughout the country.

I wish them well. I hope that, in the years ahead, they will continue to defend the values that make our country great. The first value is upholding democracy and free speech. We are a country that proudly finds disagreement on almost every topic. We should never be a country that seeks to stifle either side of that disagreement, as we saw in the troubling actions of the Metropolitan Police in London on Saturday when republican protesters were arrested.

Secondly, I hope that the King would want people to have confidence in the transparency of his reign. At present, as we have discussed before, the Crown consent procedure allows the monarch’s lawyers to flag concern about legislation and to request changes. My party has been clear that those details and interventions should be made public. Like all institutions, we have a right to know how legislative decisions are made. That is a cornerstone of our democracy.

We are a quirky people. Our traditions, eccentricities and humour are part of the rich composition that makes up the culture and identity of these islands. So well captured in the words of Nick Cave, Saturday marked a moment in our national story—a turning of the page—and I was very glad to have been a tiny part of that. God save the King.