Platinum Jubilee: Flotilla among Scotland's weekend celebrations
- Published
The 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was re-enacted in Kelso in the Scottish Borders
A flotilla of boats and a re-enactment of the Queen's coronation are among events celebrating the Platinum Jubilee in Scotland this weekend.
In Kelso, the 1953 coronation has been recreated, with home-made costumes and an orb made from a plumber's ballcock and gold foil.
A Parade of Sail in Edinburgh promised a colourful tribute later on Saturday.
Meanwhile, republicans staged an anti-monarchy rally in the capital.
Scotland is the only part of the UK where senior members of the royal family will not be attending jubilee events on Saturday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Wales for a jubilee concert while the Earl and Countess of Wessex have engagements in Northern Ireland.
The Queen herself has pulled out of attending the Epsom Derby but was expected to watch it on TV from Windsor Castle. Later the Prince of Wales and Prince William will pay tribute to the monarch at a Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace.
Princess Anne was in Edinburgh on Friday, when she paid a visit to Edinburgh Zoo and was photographed feeding the penguins.
The re-enactment of the coronation by members of the local Brownies, Guides, Cubs and Scouts drew crowds in Kelso
The part of the Queen was played by 12-year-old Susannah.
In Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, the celebrations involved a parade and re-enactment of the Queen's 1953 coronation.
The town's provost Gavin Horsburgh said an astonishing amount of effort had been put into the event.
"Everything from the costumes, the outfits, the paraphernalia, from the orb, the sceptre, the crowns - everything's all been hand made, hand stitched, all the jewels glued on, everything," he said.
"The orb for example - it's amazing what you can do with a plumber's ballcock and gold foil. It's absolutely amazing."
Afterwards Liz Hird, one of the organisers of the event, said it was a wonderful day with a tremendous turn out.
"I think the children taking part in the re-enactment were nervous at first but I think by the time they had done it and realised the reaction to them they were tremendously proud and they will remember it all their lives," she said.
The boats sailed between Newhaven and Granton harbour in Edinburgh
Meanwhile the Royal Forth Yacht Club organised a Parade of Sail with about 20 boats sailing between Newhaven and Granton harbour in Edinburgh.
Club commodore Michael Tasker said: "To make it a really colourful spectacle, boats will be flying their spinnakers which are the balloon-shaped sail at the bow of the boats - which are in many different colours.
"There is certainly going to be a variety of red white and blue on display."
Royal Deeside was living up to its name, with a programme of events planned throughout the weekend in Ballater.
Organiser David Cobben said: "There's horse racing on the green for a bit of fun for the family, a vintage afternoon tea and on Sunday we're having a large picnic - so all those events involve all the people in the community, which is a great way of bringing people together."
Seventy corgis - the Queen's favouirte dog- assembled on the lawn at Balmoral, said to be one of her favourite places
At Balmoral Castle, said to be one of the Queen's favourite places, The Corgi Society of Scotland managed to assemble 70 corgis on the front lawn.
The Queen has owned more than 30 Corgis and Dorgis - a cross between a corgi and a dachshund - during her reign, most of which have been descended from her first corgi, Susan, who was gifted to her on her 18th birthday in 1944.
Hilary Greensill, a member of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Association, said there was a "fantastic" atmosphere at the event on Saturday afternoon.
She said: "We have been to Balmoral before and with it being the Platinum Jubilee year, the estate approached us and suggested we might like to come back in the summer time.
"It is a really nice opportunity to showcase the breeds and how much fun they are and help celebrate the Platinum Jubilee with dogs the Queen is fond of."
She added: "It has been fantastic, very very jolly and noisy, lots of barking, and lots of fun."
A group of republicans including SNP MP Tommy Shepperd staged an anti-monarchy rally on Calton Hill
An alternative viewpoint was seen on Edinburgh's Calton Hill where republicans gathered for a rally.
The demonstration beside the National Monument of Scotland demanded the "end of hereditary monarchical rule", with speakers including SNP MP Tommy Sheppard.
The SNP's official position is for the Queen to remain head of state should Scotland become independent, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has spoken of her "deep respect" for the current monarch.
Are the jubilee celebrations more muted in Scotland?
Analysis by BBC Scotland editor James Cook
Opinion polls consistently suggest an underlying lack of enthusiasm for the monarchy in Scotland compared to other parts of the UK.
Last month a Focaldata survey for the British Future think tank indicated that a quarter of people in Britain would favour the nation becoming a republic at the end of the current Queen's reign. In Scotland the figure was well above a third.
The poll also suggested that while 58% of people in Britain as a whole favoured keeping the monarchy, just 45% felt the same in Scotland.
Other polls in recent years have produced similar results.
The monarchy "is definitely less popular in Scotland than it is south of the border," says Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University.
"One of the political difficulties for the monarchy north of the border is that as an institution it is now somewhat caught up in the constitutional debate," he said.
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