THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Acrylic on canvas
200cm x 150cm (+ 2 cm tray frame in black)
No, it’s not Idi Amin. It is, of course His Royal Highness King Charles III. In this painting, bonny Scotland is in tears because anyone who has been following Scottish politics over the last 30 years will be familiar with the idea that the passing of the Queen may be the final nail in the coffin for the Union. Yes, there was definitely a concern that might happen, before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth passed in Scotland no less, right? Well, the late Queen was universally popular, adored some might say. We witnessed an outpouring of grief and sense of loss that was astounding, wonderful to see in fact for the Unionists and a stark awakening for the nationalists. Her passing in Scotland added an unexpected layer of complexity. The Scots came out in their droves, lining the streets from Balmoral to Holyrood House, her residence in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. They lined the cobbled streets and cried as her children followed the coffin to St. Giles Cathedral, a narrative that the Nationalists would’ve rather wasn’t screened to billions of TV viewers around the world. This most certainly wasn’t the vision the republican arm of the SNP wanted shared on social media, never mind broadcast to the world. Many interpreted her passing in Balmoral as intentional, right? To pass in her ‘happy’ place was a parting gift to Scotland perhaps, if not a message to her heir. Some Scottish media would have you believe that the monarchy is always viewed with hostility north of the border. They shared polls that stated more than a third of Scots said the end of the Queen’s reign would be the right time to abolish the monarch and become a republic. How is it then, that Britain’s matriarch, the nation’s grandmother, their Queen precipitated such an outpouring of Scottish grief? This was news coverage the nationals couldn’t squash. It was undeniable and suddenly gave rise to a feeling and very public admission – the Scots loved, adored, and respected the Queen. She was the glue that held it all together.
But what fate lies of King Charles III and can he indeed hold the Union together now? Maybe, King Charles III can look to his own family history for advice. Precisely. Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 until 1901, was adept at interpreting and manipulating history, adopting national identities, and evoking a significant response in Scotland. One doesn’t need to be reminded of her frequent visits north of the border. Victoria revived the use of a distinctive Scottish protocol for her visits, co-opting local dress, customs, and symbols, and cultivated an elite social circle that would be most sympathetic to anglicisation. Still, there are deep challenges for the monarch. His mother’s fondness for Scotland was genuine. The late Queen’s mother was from Glamis, a small village in Angus, and part of Scottish aristocracy going back many generations. Low and behold, any spare time Her Majesty the Queen had was spent at her Scottish estate of Balmoral, where indeed she passed. King Charles III, by contrast, has by choice established his own residence, Highgrove House southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Much will rest on how profusely and genuinely King Charles III chooses to engage with his Scottish subjects. Throughout his seven decades as heir to the British throne, he was known for outspoken views on everything from the environment to architecture, leading to accusations of meddling in political and social matters beyond his purview. And as a young man, he was portrayed in the U.K. media as an eccentric figure, who was obsessed with gardening and talking to his plants. Nevertheless, as heir he was mindful to use his Scottish titles, Lord of the Isles and Duke of Rothesay, when north of the border.
Nevertheless, times have changed and maybe the new King too. Today, sadly no one has heard of past King’s and Queen’s, they just remain ghosts in the antechamber of the New God, Capitalism, where their statues collect dust. The Royal Family can be seen as the most high-profile reality TV show in the world. Global media can’t get enough of their antics, saturating the press with their every move, dissecting their morality choices, and critiquing their choice of dress. It’s not easy being the head of the family in such times. The world is suffocating with a climate catastrophe, war continues to reign in Eastern Europe, economic hardship and poverty is knocking at our door, so what can the Royal Family bring to us in such times? Is King Charles giving us signs? He returned to Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate to grieve in private with Camilla, Queen Consort. He also spent his honeymoon there too following their wedding in 2005 and they isolated there during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020. We weren’t paying attention, perhaps nor did we care, but we do now. It’s almost like a release. Most Scottish unionists felt bullied in their silence, never allowing their true thoughts to be shared for fear of vitriolic social media bullying by a powerful nationalist lobby. Since the Queen’s passing, the intimidation is sliding away. For it seems that this King does appear to love Scotland.
And then there’s the King’s love of Ayrshire. In 2007, the then HRH Prince Charles, The Duke of Rothesay intervened to save and restore Dumfries House, designed by Robert Adam. His Royal Highness has developed the 2000-acre estate as an educational resource and opened it to the public. He talks about ‘respecting the past, building the future’, sharing his vision of creating communities for a more sustainable world. Give him his due, he’s been banging on about sustainability for more than 40 years, maybe he deserves recognition and maybe we should finally all be paying attention.
Some say that the Royals around the world will end up in the dungeon of our times, were rats breed more rats! But let’s strip it back to old fashioned values. This is a chap whose lost his mum that he had to share with the world. This is a chap who by birth right was catapulted into the longest running reality TV show in the world, having to watch endless counterfeit productions produce their take on history, and ultimately on his biography. Let’s hope that between nationalism and capitalism King Charles III will survive, right? Personally, I’m impressed by him, I was always drawn to loners. My wife adores him, she’s a royalist and a bona fide Scot. But make no mistake, if we have witnessed anything, the sense of loss after the passing of our Queen will be nothing like the sense of loss of Scotland leaving the Union. It’s over to you King Charles III. Don’t let my wife down, as I said earlier, she’s a bona fide Scot.
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