Protesters have gathered near St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh to oppose the fact that several individuals with anti-royalist views have been arrested in recent days.
Gathered with large blank signs, the group say they are demonstrating the right to free speech and that nobody should be apprehended for displaying a peaceful protest.
With several people turning up with anti-royalist signs and slogans ahead of the Queen's cortege arriving in Edinburgh on Friday, Police Scotland confirmed a 22-year-old woman was subsequently arrested for breach of the peace.
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On Monday, as the Queen's procession made its way up the Royal Mile from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, followed by King Charles III and his three siblings, a male appeared to 'heckle' in the direction of Prince Andrew. He was eventually dragged away by police before being placed under arrest and subsequently charged for a similar offence.
A group of around a dozen Edinburgh locals congregated outside St Giles' Cathedral and have been present since early afternoon on Tuesday, saying that they have no plans to leave and that anyone else is welcome to join them and start in support of expressing opinion.
They said: "We've come out from about 12. We're here because during the last days we've seen people arrested for holding signs and expressing anti-monarchy views. We're here holding blank signs to show that people should be allowed to protest, this is a public space and people should be allowed to protest in public spaces.
"It's not up to the monarchy, it's not up to the government and it's not up to the police to say when and how people should protest. What we saw over the last few days was people being arrested for holding a sign and not even saying anything and not engaging which we think is ridiculous.
"The police are trying to scare people out of protesting and expressing their views which is simply not right. Some people today expressed opposing views and thought it was disrespectful and in a way that is them expressing their own views but they're not being arrested for that. Even people who support the monarchy believe that people should not be arrested for thinking otherwise and quite a lot of people have been largely supportive of both us and the monarchy."
So far the group say they have not ran into any trouble with the police, although people have told them what they're doing is disrespectful, while others agree that the events of the past few days should have been avoided.
Huge crowds are still present on the Royal Mile as locals and tourists prepare to witness Her Majesty's coffin leave the capital for a final time. Around 3:30pm, the journey from St Giles' will begin through to Edinburgh Airport, with advice issued to residents due to the severe disruption expected during the afternoon.
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