On his first public appearance with his wife after the Queen’s death, King Charles III paid a poignant homage to his late mother.
As part of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee festivities, His Majesty and Queen Consort Camilla formally conferred city status on Dunfermline, and the king claimed the occasion will ‘gladden my lovely mother’s heart, as it undoubtedly gladdens mine.’
Community groups, including a local pipe band and schoolchildren, greeted Charles and Camilla in Fife, with the King and his wife pausing to speak to the public and shake their hands. Catherine Gillian-Adams, 91, was among those who waited to see Charles and expressed her delight that her hometown had been elevated to the status of city.
Thousands of people came to Dunfermline to view the royal couple and other VIPs, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was met with applause and jeers. When Charles, dressed in a blue plaid kilt, came, there was applause and screams of “God Save the King.”
His Majesty and his wife attended an official council meeting at the City Chambers when the King formally acknowledged Dunfermline’s city status and delivered a brief address. It is their first public appearance together since royal mourning ended last Tuesday.
When it was announced that the town would become a city, the King remarked he was “delighted.” He hoped people would experience a “true feeling of pride in this new chapter.”
He said: ‘That would, I know, gladden my dear mother’s heart, as it certainly gladdens mine. As you celebrate your well-deserved status as Scotland’s new City, I can only offer my warmest congratulations and my heartfelt wishes for the years to come.”
He added: ‘I was delighted when, in May this year, it was announced that Dunfermline was one of the eight communities being granted City Status to mark The late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. There could be no more fitting way to mark my beloved mother’s extraordinary life of service than by granting this honour to a place made famous by its own long and distinguished history, and by the indispensable role it has played in the life of our country.
‘Now, of course, we gather to celebrate this great occasion but also to commemorate the life of Her late Majesty, whose deep love for Scotland was one of the foundations of her life’.
Following the ceremony, they visited Dunfermline Abbey to commemorate its 950th anniversary and will meet with members from Historic Scotland to hear about the surrounding area’s history and conservation efforts. The Abbey is the last resting place of Robert The Bruce and other Scottish royalty.