THE King and Queen will face protests when they arrive in Edinburgh to mark the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament this weekend.
King Charles is due to address Holyrood on Saturday to mark a quarter of a century since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened.
He will meet with First Minister John Swinney along with Queen Camilla before making a speech to the chamber. He will then meet people from across Scotland nominated by MSPs as “local heroes”.
But Edinburgh-based supporters of anti-monarchy group Republic have insisted Charles and Camilla’s attendance at the ceremony “makes a mockery of what the Scottish Parliament is meant to stand for”.
The branch will be staging a protest outside the Parliament to show their opposition to the royals being “parachuted in” for the celebration.
It comes after a report by Republic laid out how the monarchy is costing the taxpayer more than £500 million a year.
Francine Love, of Republic's Edinburgh branch, said: “This is about the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament. It’s not about Charles and Camilla, who are here trying to seek relevance from the achievements of others.
“We don’t need a member of the royal family to be parachuted in to celebrate our history, our institutions, or the contribution Scots make to our country.
“Republic Edinburgh objects to an unaccountable and undemocratic monarchy attempting to align itself with an institution that represents not only all of its citizens but is the very embodiment of democracy and accountability in Scotland.
“The group calls instead for a celebration of civic Scotland and all who work towards making Scotland a fairer and more inclusive place to live.”
“Lavishing any family with huge privilege, power and wealth as a birthright is a fundamentally undemocratic idea, and it is particularly distasteful during a cost of living crisis which is seeing scandalous levels of child poverty, and pensioners across our country forced to choose between feeding themselves and heating their home,” he said.
The King and Queen will meet with the Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone on their arrival on Saturday, along with deputy presiding officers and the Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh.
The Mace and Crown of Scotland will be carried into the chamber as part of a procession to a fanfare sounded by musicians from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
The late Queen presented the mace to the Scottish Parliament at its official opening on July 1 1999, accompanied by Charles and her husband Philip.
Following the King’s address, the First Minister and other party leaders will make speeches.
Performances by the charity Sistema Scotland, Coisir Alba singers and musician Calum McIlroy will be interspersed throughout the session.
As the King and Queen leave, young people from across Scotland will form a guard of honour outside Parliament, lining part of their route to the nearby Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Anyone wishing to join the protest is asked to meet outside Kilderkin on the Royal Mile at 10am on Saturday.
The group will then move on to the Scottish Parliament to get an “ideal spot” to protest the King and Queen’s arrival at approximately 11.30am.
The protest will be finished by approximately 1pm.
