Ditching Monarchy Is Step Too Far for Scots Nationalists

After Elizabeth I died childless in 1603, her distant relative James VI of Scotland came down to take the throne and unite the two crowns, becoming James I of England. He never came back.

More than four centuries later, Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond says that if his campaign for independence prevails in this week’s referendum, he would keep Queen Elizabeth II, the 12th monarch of the United Kingdom, and she would be “proud to be Queen of Scots.”

For Scottish nationalists who say they are on the cusp of achieving their ambition of unraveling the U.K. political union that dates back 307 years, ditching the monarchy is a step too far. Rather than a republic, they want to keep the queen as head of a newly independent state.

“It would be a very smooth transition as she is already the Queen in Scotland,” said Robert Hazell, director of the constitution unit at University College London. “It’s a country she knows very well and loves very well.”

The monarchy is the most enduring symbol of union between England and Scotland along with the pound sterling, which the nationalists also want to retain.

The current queen has a home built by Queen Victoria in northeast Scotland, Balmoral Castle. Her mother, also Elizabeth, was related to the Scottish Royal House with the family seat at Glamis Castle. The queen’s eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, is often pictured in a kilt.

Source

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-15/ditching-monarchy-is-step-too-far-for-scots-nationalists.html

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