Gold spangly banners and polished cornets adorned Monday’s procession. A decent-sized crowd had gathered along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and, while boos were audible, most were clearly signed-up royalists. Cheering was heard as Charles was proclaimed King, joining in with rounds of ‘God Save the King’ and more cheering as one banner-waving republican was bundled away by police.
The enthusiasts, though, represent a minority, gathered as part of a push to reanimate the corpse of British nationalism.
A poll earlier this year found that only 45% of Scots wanted to keep the monarchy after the death of the Queen – a demographic that, like support for the Union itself, skews heavily towards older people, heavily towards a cohort which is already starting to thin in numbers.
