LEADING cultural and educational institutions - including Scotland's ancient universities - have been invited by the King to swear loyalty to him.
King Charles will received the so-called "privileged bodies” – a group of 27 organisations and corporations – which will present loyal addresses to the sovereign in person in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
Buckingham Palace said the privileged bodies are “culturally significant organisations and institutions that reflect the United Kingdom’s diverse society”.
Drawn from the education, science, arts and religious sectors, those invited include the General Synod of the Church of England, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as of Edinburgh, London, St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen, the Bank of England, City of London Corporation, the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Military Knights of Windsor and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.
READ MORE: Joanna Cherry 'reported to SNP HQ' after sharing Wings Over Scotland tweet
The loyal addresses – in the form of a speech – serve to “emphasise and reaffirm their loyalty to the monarch”, the Palace said.
Charles will deliver a response at the end.
According to the Royal Encyclopaedia, a certain number of bodies enjoy the prescriptive right of presenting addresses to the sovereign seated on the throne and “of receiving a reply from the sovereign’s lips”.
In centuries past, this important function allowed the groups to publicly declare their loyalty to the crown and have the “ear” of the monarch, while also allowing the king or queen to hear grassroots opinions.
The long-held custom takes place to mark significant royal occasions and the event is in recognition of Charles’s accession to the throne.
The late Queen received the privileged bodies on five occasions during her reign, including for her accession in 1952.
The last time the ceremony took place was to celebrate Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, when Boris Johnson – then the London mayor – took the opportunity to present her with a commemorative Oyster travel card.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel