For most royals, one coronation would be enough.
But not for King Charles III, sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. On Wednesday, he took part in a second ceremony in Scotland that bore all the royal trappings of a coronation, if not the same legal status.
Charles received a scepter, sword of state and coronet first worn at a coronation by Mary Queen of Scots in 1543. He and Queen Camilla took part in a solemn religious service at St Giles Cathedral, gazing at the ancient Stone of Destiny, used in the investiture of Scottish kings. Then a squadron of Royal Air Force fighter jets soared through the azure sky above Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
Scotland has not been a kingdom since 1707, when the Act of Union united it with England. So the rituals and pageantry that took place in the Scottish capital were ceremonial rather than legal.
But they had deep political resonance in a proud country where pro-independence passions still run deep. Like his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles is eager to reaffirm his personal ties to Scotland, not only to win the support of the Scots, but to bind them closer to the union. Elizabeth traveled to Edinburgh after her coronation in 1953 for a similar presentation of the Scottish Crown Jewels.
“This is all about trying to strengthen the union, which was perhaps one of Elizabeth’s great successes as monarch,” said Ed Owens, a royal historian. “The challenge for King Charles is that he has historically been more closely associated with Wales, and polls have shown there is no great love for him north of the border.”
Protesters waved black and yellow signs reading “Not my King” were conspicuously visible along the parade route in Edinburgh. That was in stark contrast to May’s Coronation Day in London, when police rounded up members of an anti-monarchy group before they could assemble at Trafalgar Square.
Charles left little to chance at the service. He and Camilla wore the ermine robes and plumed hats of the Order of Thistle, perhaps recalling his mother’s decision in 1953 to wear business dress and carry a handbag, which offended some Scots, who viewed it as considered too casual.
Buckingham Palace reminded the news media that in 2007, Charles led investors in the purchase of an endangered Scottish estate, Dumfries House, which he then renovated through his charitable foundation.
The service showed a diverse Scotland, but also a country recently torn apart by political unrest. Humza Yousaf, a son of Pakistani immigrants who rose to become the first minister, gave the first reading from the Old Testament. Mr Yousaf took office in March after Nicola Sturgeon, the long-serving leader of the Scottish National Party, abruptly stepped down.
The party, which led the campaign to break away from the United Kingdom, spiraled into scandal. Last month, police arrested Ms. Sturgeon into an investigation into the party’s finances, and released her without charge several hours later. The crisis has reversed the cause of Scottish independence, although polls show that almost half of the population still support a new independence referendum.
The last time Scots held such a referendum, in 2014, the Queen played a subtle but arguably important role in the outcome. She broke with her usual silence on political issues and urged Scots to “think very carefully about the future”. In the end, they voted 55 percent to 45 percent to remain members of the union.
Whatever their ambivalence about the monarchy, the Scots generally embraced Elizabeth. She spent her summers at her Highland castle, Balmoral, and after she died there in September, huge crowds lined the route to bid her farewell as a hearse carried her coffin to Edinburgh. Her body lay in state at St. Giles’ in what amounted to a dress rehearsal for the state funeral in London.
Feelings for Charles are more mixed. In a recent poll by the research firm YouGov, 46 percent of respondents gave a positive opinion of him, while 42 percent were negative. Nearly three-quarters said they couldn’t care less about the coronation in May, while only 46 percent said Britain should remain a monarchy. Forty percent preferred an elected head of state, while 14 percent said they didn’t know.
Still, the king seemed at ease during the service, which focused on two of his main goals: religious diversity and climate change. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist leaders offered blessings. South Carolina native and moderator of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, right-wing Reverend Sally Foster-Fulton said the Scottish people would work with Charles to save the planet for future generations.
“It’s our duty to return it still singing and swaying and bathing, not fried to a crisp,” she said, as Charles bowed his head.
