The Edinburgh Reporter July 2023

3

Standing guard

More events planned

for Royal Week in

Edinburgh this year

Standing uardStanding guard

By PHYLLIS STEPHEN

AT THE OPENING of The Edinburgh Arrow

The Rt Hon Lord Provost said: “As the King’s

Bodyguard in Scotland all major royal events

such as the garden parties and Thistle services

are enhanced by the presence of The Royal

Company of Archers.” The archers will play a

central role when they accompany the Honours

of Scotland from the Castle with a Guard of

Honour formed by contingents of the Navy,

Army and Royal Air Force.

So too will the Lord Lyon King of Arms, Dr

Joe Morrow, who said: “I will be going up in

Rolls Royce 1, a very posh car, to the castle with

a Pursuivant and a Herald to bring down the

Royal Honours. The Pursuivant will bring

down the new Elizabeth Sword, crafted and

designed in Scotland. The Herald will bring the

Sceptre, and I will come down separately in

Rolls Royce 1 with the Crown of Scotland.

“It's a great honour for me to accompany it

and bring it into the arena where all the activity

will take place in West Parliament Square, and

then to ceremonially march it into the Signet

Library to be given into the hands of the Bearer

of the Crown, the Duke of Hamilton. The other

two bearers are Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice

Clerk, and Dame Katherine Grainger, who is

Chancellor of Glasgow University and an

Olympic gold medallist.

“These bearers will each be escorted by two

people representing different aspects of Scottish

life - including a lady from Deeside, a lady who

chairs the International Faith group for

Scotland, the Head Boy from a Fife School, the

Head Girl from an Inverclyde school, a young

officer just out of Sandhurst and a civil servant.

“The people of Scotland have a much bigger

role with over 100 marching to the Cathedral

ahead of the Honours. It is very much a

celebration of the people of Scotland.”

Members of The Royal Family, including

The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, will attend

a national service of thanksgiving at St Giles’

Cathedral, with a Royal Procession travelling

from The Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’.

The People’s Procession involving about 100

people representing aspects of Scottish life, will

leave from the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle

to march to St Giles’ with bands. A second

involving mounted troops and military bands

will march from the Palace to St Giles’.

Weather permitting, there will be a fly past

by the Red Arrows and a 21-gun salute will be

fired by 12 Regiment Royal Artillery from

Edinburgh Castle after the service.

Colonel Charlie Wallace, Secretary of the

King’s Bodyguard for Scotland, Royal

Company of Archers who was winner

of the 2023 Edinburgh Arrow

By STAFF REPORTER

THE COUNCIL is recruiting now for

members of two groups which will lead

the city in addressing its historic links to

slavery and colonialism. There are nine

spaces to be filled on the Implementation

Group and more opportunities on the

wider support network.

This follows a decision that the council

would follow the recommendations of the

Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy

Review Group chaired by Sir Geoff Palmer

which operated between 2020 and

Summer 2022.

The nine recruits will be chosen from

diverse backgrounds, ages, genders,

ethnicities and interests.

Chair of Implementation Group, Irene

Mosota, said: “It is my great pleasure as

the independent Chair of the Edinburgh

Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review

Implementation Group to extend this

invitation to those who wish to join us.

My thanks to Sir Geoff Palmer who chaired

the original review group and whose

contribution was invaluable.

COMMUNITY NEEDS

“Our mission is to promote equity, justice,

dignity, compassion, and love in our

beautiful city and I believe that diverse

voices and perspectives are essential to

ensure our recommendations meet the

needs of our entire community. That’s why

we are actively seeking passionate

individuals to become members and

supporters of this work. Together, we can

drive meaningful change and create a

more inclusive and equitable city.

“It is not enough to simply acknowledge

the existence of inequality and racism;

we must show brave and courageous

leadership and take action to address

these issues. By doing so, we can

truly realise equity and afford dignity

to everyone.”

Council Leader Cammy Day, said: “This is

a great opportunity for anyone who’s

interested in promoting equality and

anti-racism to get involved. We want the

group and network to reflect a broad

range of viewpoints and experience and

to make sure action is taken. If you’ve got

ideas on how we can do things differently

or if you just want to play a bigger role in

the city’s response to this work, we want

to hear from you.”

The deadline for notes of interest is 5pm

on Friday 21 July and the recruitment pack

can be found on the Council website.

Irene

Mosota

Alan Simpson Photography

Recruiting for

advisory group