King welcomed to Scotland on trip marking Edinburgh’s anniversary

By Rebecca English, Royal Editor and Richard Percival

11:21 02 Jul 2024, updated 14:51 02 Jul 2024

The King was formally welcomed to Scotland today in a ceremony whose origins stretch back centuries.

His Majesty was handed the keys to the City of Edinburgh on a red velvet cushion by the Lord Provost in what is known as the Ceremony of the Keys at The Palace of Holyroodhouse, his official residence in Edinburgh.

The gesture signals the start of what is known as Holyrood Week, the official visit by the Sovereign to Scotland every July to celebrate Scottish culture, community and achievement.

This year events are, however, being restricted to just two days as His Majesty needs to return to London for Thursday’s General Election.

The King and Queen flew in by helicopter from Birkhall, their Scottish home, where they had spent the weekend.

Standing in the gardens of the palace, the King was greeted by a Guard of Honour provided by Balaklava Company, 5 Scots.

Music was provided by The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Pipes and Drums of 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Also on Parade were the Palace Guard found by Balaklava Company, 5 SCOTS, The King’s Bodyguard Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) – which has functioned since created by George IV in 1822 as the Sovereign’s ceremonial ‘Bodyguard for Scotland’ – and the High Constables of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

A royal gun salute was simultaneously fired at Edinburgh Castle as the sovereign arrived.

King Charles, 75, received a Royal Salute before inspecting the troops through an ‘Avenue of Archers’.

The Lord Provost, Councillor Robert Aldridge, then presented the Keys to the City of Edinburgh to His Majesty, saying: ‘We, the Lord Provost and the members of the City of Edinburgh Council, welcome Your Majesty to the capital city of your Ancient and Hereditary Kingdom of Scotland and offer for your gracious acceptance the Keys of Your Majesty’s good City of Edinburgh.’

According to tradition, the King merely touched them before returning them to the Lord Provost for safe keeping, replying: ‘I return these keys, being perfectly convinced that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and Councillors of my good City of Edinburgh.’

In the audience was D-Day veteran Cyril Bird, 100, from Edinburgh, who was serving with the Royal Tank Regiment in Normandy.

His wife, Liz, said: ‘As a country we do this thing really well.

‘It’s so important to keep these traditions alive and well and very important to my husband and gah fellow D-Day veterans to be here.

‘It’s also marvellous to see the King looking so well considering everything he is going through.’

Later today the King will hold an investiture while the Queen will host a reception to celebrate those who work to promote Scottish Literacy.

Their Majesties, joined by The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, will also host guests at a Garden Party.

On Wednesday the King and Queen will be joined by the Prince of Wales, whose Scottish title is the Duke of Rothesay, at the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral, where Camilla and Edward will be appointed to the Order of the Thistle.

Charles and Camilla will round off the trip by joining a celebration with various performers, guests and organisations at Edinburgh Castle to mark the city’s 900th anniversary.

Recipients of investitures include bestselling author Sir Alexander McCall Smith, creator of The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and the 44 Scotland Street novels, who will receive a knighthood for services to literature, academia and charity. 

Others to be honoured on Tuesday, after being named in the King’s New Year Honours, include Paul Mealor, professor of composition at the University of Aberdeen.

He will become a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) – a gift given by the King to people who have served him or the monarchy in a personal way.

Professor Mealor composed Coronation Kyrie for the King’s coronation last year and has composed music for other royal occasions over the past decade, including the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011, and Charles’s 65th, 70th and 75th birthdays.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, principal of the University of Strathclyde, will be appointed to the most senior rank of the Order of the British Empire.

He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours list, for services to engineering, education and energy.

Sir Jim became principal and vice-chancellor of the university in March 2009 following a long association with Strathclyde, studying his bachelor of science, masters and PhD degrees in the areas of electronic and electrical engineering, power systems and energy economics.

Liz Smith, a former Scotland cricketer who is now a Conservative MSP, will become a CBE for services to sport.

The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP won seven caps with the Scottish Ladies’ Cricket XI and is also a former president of the Scottish Women’s Cricket Association.

She no longer plays professionally but is still involved in the sport through coaching.

Members of the emergency services will also be honoured on Tuesday.

They include Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain, who will receive the King’s Police Medal.

Mr Hussain, from Largs, is the first ethnic minority police officer to progress through the ranks from constable to the post of chief superintendent.

The tactical firearms commander won praise for his adept handling of the response to Operation Unicorn – where he was responsible for all firearms officers involved in the large-scale policing operation put in place following the death of the Queen in September 2022.

Retired chief superintendent Carol McGuire, from Symington, and Police Constable Stephanie Rose, from Denny, will receive the King’s Police Medal.

Ms McGuire joined Strathclyde Police in 1995 and retired in October last year.

During the course of her career she undertook a secondment to the football co-ordination unit Scotland, where she developed the country’s first national strategy for the policing of football.

PC Rose developed the Keep Safe initiative in partnership with I Am Me Scotland, which was piloted in Renfrewshire in 2014 before becoming a national programme in 2015.

The initiative creates a network of local businesses to establish Keep Safe places for disabled, vulnerable and elderly people to go if they feel lost, confused, scared or intimidated, or have been the victim of a crime.

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It comes after the Princess Royal expressed her ‘deep regret’ at missing a poignant First World War commemorations in Canada due to her horse-related accident.

Anne, 73, is convalescing at her Gatcombe Park home after spending five nights in hospital after she was believed to have been struck by the animal while out walking on June 23.

The princess said she was ‘deeply saddened that I’m unable to join you’ in remarks read out on her behalf by Canada’s governor general Mary Simon in St John’s, Newfoundland.

The ceremony on July 1 – Canada Day – saw the repatriation of the remains of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier from the battlefields of northern France.

The King’s sister praised the ‘brave efforts and sacrifices’ of the soldiers who fought on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, one of the war’s largest and bloodiest offensives.

Anne was due to travel to Canada for an overseas tour on Sunday, but is now away from public engagements until her medical team recommends it is safe and comfortable for her to resume official duties.