Nicola Sturgeon encountered conflicting reactions today as she came in Dunfermline for a historic event to create the city.
The Scottish First Minister waved to fellow Scots outside the Dunfermline City Chambers this morning while being booed and applauded by various sections of the audience.
Fans of the royal family congregated in front of the 140-year-old council building in an attempt to see King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, who are also in attendance.
As part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Dunfermline, which is located just over the Forth estuary from the Scottish capital Edinburgh, received city status earlier this year.
However, the event to properly acknowledge the honor was postponed since the Monarch passed away last month at the age of 96.
Charles, who succeeded to the throne last month when his mother passed away, will be present for the city-founding event today.
First Minister Sturgeon arrived to Dunfermline City Chambers in advance of the ceremony, where she was welcomed by Jim Leishman, the Lord Provost of Dunfermline.
However, the leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) received a mixed response when she turned to wave to the mostly royalist throng. Loud yells and whistles were heard among the scattered cheers and claps.
The event was recorded on camera by Chris Ship, the royal editor for ITV.
He tweeted the footage and stated: “If you needed a reminder of how deterministic Scottish politics can be, Nicola Sturgeon was primarily booed (with some shouts) by the throng waiting for King Charles and Camilla to arrive.
“This is a gathering expecting a king to appear, yet it caught me off guard…”
King Charles was afterwards seen addressing crowds, some of whom were flying the Union flag, in stark contrast.
One Dunfermline local who had gathered outside the city chambers in anticipation of the King’s visit called the monarch’s arrival “exciting.”
It’s a momentous occasion, according to Bill Henderson, 71.
The Queen has been my queen for my whole life since I was born soon before she ascended to the throne. It’s just thrilling.
And particularly when King Charles the First was born here, whatever long ago that was, “and especially a King Charles coming back to Dunfermline.”
It’s such tremendous honor for Dunfermline, said 52-year-old teacher Carol Williams.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee festivities included the awarding of the city status to the newly crowned city, which has origins that go back to before the Bronze Age.
Colchester, Doncaster, Milton Keynes, Stanley in the Falkland Islands, Bangor in Northern Ireland, Douglas in the Isle of Man, and Wrexham in Wales are among the eight places that have been given city status.
St Andrews, the first university in Scotland and the global center of golf, lost to Dunfermline in the Scottish rivalry for the honor.
Provost of Fife Jim Leishman said at the time that “the formal title of city would give Dunfermline the broader respect that it deserves as one of the fastest-growing metropolitan districts in Scotland, with all the facilities that any contemporary metropolis could aspire for.”
Having city status would benefit Dunfermline and the surrounding area by allowing us to develop economically and as a tourism attraction.
Of course, Dunfermline residents have known that their town is a city for a long time—why that’s there is a City Car Park, a City Hotel, and City Cabs—but it’s wonderful to have this knowledge recognized formally. ‘
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will do additional engagements in Scotland today in addition to the ceremony.
Following a council meeting in the City Chambers, they will visit Dunfermline Abbey to commemorate its 950th birthday.
They will subsequently conduct a reception at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse to honor British South Asian communities.