Kirk wants monarch to be crowned in Scotland if independent
24 May 2013
As the debate for Scotland's independence gathers momentum ahead of a referendum next year, the Church of Scotland has approved a call to crown the British monarch in both England and Scotland, should Scotland become independent.
The ruling general assembly of the Kirk, as the Scottish call their church, said at its annual gathering that a separate ceremony would symbolise a monarch's role as King or Queen of Scots.
Reverend Sally Foster-Fulton, convener of the Church of Scotland's church and society council, said it would give "an opportunity for people of all faiths and no faith to create together this civic occasion".
Charles II – the 'Merry Monarch' - was the last monarch to be crowned in Scotland, in 1651 after the Restoration of monarchy.
The church, which would expect to play a prominent part in a separate investiture, says it would also serve as a reminder of the monarch's obligation to uphold Scottish religious life and traditions.
"Monarchs are the kings and queens of the Scottish people," Foster-Fulton said. "They rule with the consent of the people. A coronation would be a wonderful celebration of that important relationship."
Buckingham Palace has previously said the debate was "a matter for the Church of Scotland and not something we would comment on".
Charles II's coronation took place at Scone Palace in Perthshire on New Year's Day 1651.
Since the union of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603, all other British monarchs have been crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
The proposal to crown future monarchs in Scotland as well was one of a number of recommendations put forward to the Kirk's general assembly in a report written by three of the church's bodies: the Church and Society Council, the committee on ecumenical relations and the legal questions committee.
The assembly also backed calls for the church's own constitution to be acknowledged as lawful in any Scottish national constitution and it approved plans for a draft document to be made public before the vote on independence on 18 September 2014.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that potential voters in the referendum are being increasingly put off by the low quality of the debate on the issue.
Among the more significant pledges, Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party (SNP) promised earlier this week that an independent Scotland would have one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the Western world in order to attract multinational firms.
An SNP government would undercut whatever level the UK set by 3 per cent, the First Minister pledged.
