Palace sends for William to rescue union
Courtiers draw up rescue plans for the Duke and Duchess, amid royal fears that politicians are risking the union.
Courtiers are drawing up plans for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to spend more time in Scotland to bolster the Union, amid fears in the royal household that politicians are “losing Scotland”.
Palace aides want William and Kate to build on the success of a recent visit north of the border by becoming a visible symbol of the bonds between England and Scotland. Officials do not think the issue should be left to politicians because the Union is based on a united monarchy as well as a political deal.
“They think of it as their Union,” said a source close to the royal household. “It was originally a union of crowns. They think the politicians have been losing Scotland for them. What William is doing is a deliberately more muscular approach to the crown investing in the relationship with Scotland.”
The royal households of England and Scotland merged after the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. Political union did not follow until a century later with the Acts of Union in 1707.
Under the proposals the Cambridges would spend far more time at Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish estate, treating it as a regular home rather than a place for brief holidays. They would also strengthen their ties with St Andrews, the town where they met and fell in love as university students.
The couple recently visited Edinburgh, St Andrews, Orkney, North Lanarkshire and East Lothian as William took up a post as lord high commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland. He made a speech stressing his close family ties to Scotland but also risked controversy by meeting Gordon Brown, the former prime minister who has launched a campaign to save the Union. William also had a private audience with Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister.
“Advisers want William and Kate to be in Balmoral a lot more and build on their St Andrews connection,” a royal source said. “They want them not to look like visitors but to look like residents.” This is likely to mean that William is not seen wearing a kilt.
“The feeling is that successive governments have let this drift and that the politicians are irreparably divided,” the source added.
A YouGov poll in Scotland in April found that 69 per cent of voters had a positive view of William, with 17 per cent having a negative view. By contrast, YouGov’s most recent survey found that just 22 per cent of Scots had a favourable view of Boris Johnson, while 71 per cent had an unfavourable view.
The disclosure came as Downing Street confirmed that the Queen and Johnson had not met in person for their weekly audience since the pandemic began. Insiders say relations remain strained after the proroguing of parliament in 2019 was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. “It’s still noticeable that the Queen and Boris are doing telephone audiences each week,” said a Tory source.
Details of the planning in royal circles emerged after the prime minister hosted a meeting on Thursday with the devolved administrations designed to strengthen links between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Among the the plans discussed were:
The Turing university exchange scheme, which replaces the EU Erasmus scheme, will offer exchanges for students between parts of the UK as well as with foreign universities.
More money will be invested in transport links between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
British diplomats will be told to change the way they speak about the UK, referring to it as one country rather than talking about “the four nations of the UK”.
Whitehall officials will be told to stop ignoring the Union and put its preservation at the heart of policymaking.
Ministers are privately supportive of William but are reluctant to ask the royals to do more, fearful of accusations that they are politicising the monarchy.
Last week the former SNP leader Alex Salmond warned “desperate Unionists” to keep the royals out of constitutional debate after William’s meeting with Brown was revealed.
An Opinium survey in March found that 39 per cent of voters in Scotland favour retaining the royal family if the UK breaks up while 39 per cent said a Scottish republic should be created and 22 per cent said they did not know.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
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