Celebrations continue across Scotland after Coronation parade
- Published
Locals turned out of the Coronation Big Lunch in Ballater on Sunday
Parties have been held across Scotland to mark the Coronation following a military parade in honour of the new King and Queen.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned in Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
On Sunday about 1,500 people in the Aberdeenshire village of Ballater held a Big Lunch featuring a pipe band on the village's Church Green.
It has boasted a close royal connection since Queen Victoria was on the throne.
Ballater was also one of the first places King Charles visited after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at nearby Balmoral last September.
David Corbyn, who helped organise the event, said: "We feel an affinity with the royal family, we have a strong respect for them and they have for us, so this is a celebration of everything they've achieved and what they are now about to as King and Queen.
"It's a great opportunity for us to come together and show our appreciation."
Celebrations continue after Coronation parade
Earlier hundreds of military personnel took part in a march through Glasgow to mark the event.
The city's Lord Lieutenant Jacqueline McLaren congratulated King Charles and Queen Camilla during the ceremony.
The George Square celebration featured a guard of honour inspection, three cheers for the King and Queen, and the national anthem.
In her speech, the Lord Lieutenant, who attended the Coronation at Westminster Abbey on behalf of the city, told the crowd: "I would like to thank you all for attending today to mark this historic occasion.
"I was honoured, as the city's representative of Their Majesties, to accept their invitation to witness the historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey - a memorable and once-in-a-lifetime event.
"On behalf of the city on this day, which marks the first full day of our new King's reign, I wish the royal couple longevity, happiness and wisdom."
A thanksgiving service followed at Glasgow Cathedral
The Lord Lieutenant said she met the King last year at the opening of the refurbished Burrell Collection and hoped to welcome the royal couple back to Glasgow "very soon".
She then took the salute as the parade of military servicemen and women, cadets and veterans marched past the City Chambers.
Afterwards they paraded through the city to Glasgow Cathedral for a thanksgiving service.
In Edinburgh, the annual interfaith event was moved to coincide with the Coronation weekend.
The annual peace walk welcomed those of any or no faith to celebrate diversity and respect differing views on the monarchy.
Nasim Azad has met many friends at the annual peace walk
Nasim Azad, co-convenor of Edinburgh Interfaith Association, said the walk helped to forge connections between people of different faiths.
She added: "Every year so many people come along and every year it's growing.
"The walk presents a safe space for people to come together and get to know each other."
People met at Leith's Gurdwara to mark the Vaisakhi spring festival before joining the walk.
Wege Singh, the general secretary of the Leith Gurdwara, says: "We're very much in support of the Royal Family and all the work they're doing, especially King Charles.
"He's shown that he's very, very in touch with the community so we're looking forward to his reign."
Public screenings of the Coronation were held in Glasgow Cathedral and at the Ross Bandstand in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens.
Residents wore crowns for the celebrations in Ballater
Scouts in Greenock, Inverclyde, toasted marshmallows to celebrate
Another community lunch event was held in the school hall on Westray in the Orkney Islands on Sunday to bring the small community of less than 600 people together.
Locals pitched in to make sandwiches and bake cakes for the Big Lunch held in the island's school hall.
Davy, 13, said: "The food's really good and there's a lot of people here from the island. The Coronation was good too."
And more than 300 people turned out for a similar celebration in Gartocharn, West Dunbartonshire, which featured bouncy castles and ice-cream.
Organiser James MacRae, 82, said: "These events are important because they pull a community together.
"I feel on an occasion like a coronation, particularly a once in 70-year coronation, that we must have an event."
More than 200 Coronation Big Lunch events have been registered across Scotland over Coronation weekend.
The Queen has been Patron of The Big Lunch, external initiative since 2013 and the events encourage neighbours and communities to meet and share food.
People on Westray in the Orkney Islands turned out for a Coronation Big Lunch
Davy, James and Miller looking regal on Westray
Locals in Broughton in the Scottish Borders celebrated the occasion with food, a choir and a band.
Jennifer McBeth owns the community shop and organised the Broughton Big Coronation Lunch.
She said: "We've got a fantastic turnout today. We're here for the Coronation lunch and we're about to play the national anthem and toast to the King.
"But we also want to bring the village together. This is another chance to meet new people as people come and go from the village."
People in Broughon in the Scottish Borders celebrated with food and music
Gun salutes were fired at Edinburgh and Stirling Castles to mark the moment the King was crowned.
At the ceremony in Westminster Abbey, the Scottish government was represented by First Minister Humza Yousaf, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bail KC and the Permanent Secretary John-Paul Marks.
Other dignitaries included Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone, ex-prime minister Gordon Brown and former lord advocate Dame Elish Angiolini KC.
Several hundred other Scots also made the trip to London to be closer to the main event, with some camping for several days in dreary weather.
King Charles III was crowned with St Edward's Crown during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey
King Charles' former school Gordonstoun held its own Coronation for younger pupils to learn more about the ceremony on Friday.
And on the day of the Coronation, older students volunteered to take part in a run and swim.
The event was based on a daily timetable from the 1960s, which was recently discovered in the school archive.
Meanwhile, thousands also attended an independence march and rally in Glasgow, which was addressed by former first minister Alex Salmond.
And in Edinburgh about 500 people gathered on Calton Hill for an anti-monarchy rally organised by Our Republic.
- Published7 May 2023
- Published6 May 2023
- Published6 May 2023
