WE have to wonder what exactly Scotland has done to annoy the royal family.
It’s not as if we’ve been nasty to them. Even in the white heat of the referendum campaign we were almost deferential.
Many of us dream of a republican Scotland but that wasn’t even on the table in the September 18 vote. The SNP, wary of scaring too many horses, was almost indecently careful to stress that the Queen would remain the monarch in Scotland and we would remain her (mostly) loyal subjects.
You might have thought that would have been enough to persuade the royal family to keep a respectful distance from democracy in action.
But no ... if most recognised accounts of the referendum campaigns are to be believed the Queen intentionally passed a rather veiled comment to a member of the public outside a church near Balmoral Castle, when she advised Scots to “think carefully” when they cast their votes.
The aim was reportedly to make sure her views were dutifully reported to the public just in case they had planned to enter the polling booth without a thought in their heads.
But did we hold against her this sly attempt to influence the vote? No, we did not. Not even on Twitter, that seething cesspit of vile hatred (copyright Daily Mail and JK Rowling) could you find angry calls for abdication.
But this week palace officials were at it again, briefing that a very, very slight increase in devolution could mean that Scotland would give more than £1 million less to the royal coffers.
There was, of course, not a shred of truth in the claim – and it was shot down in flames by both the Scottish Government and Westminster, in a unique example of immediate agreement.
Too late, of course, to stop the nation’s media from reporting this threat as if it had been handed from the heavens on a tablet of stone. This was yet another example of Scotland’s determination to do very bad things, we were told by media who had either failed to make even the most cursory checks of the story or who had immediately discounted Scottish Government denials as spin.
The last time a newspaper reported such rubbish before checking – the Telegraph’s “Frenchgate” exclusive which unravelled in five minutes – it didn’t end well. But clearly it was too much to expect newspapers to learn from that fiasco.
Anyway, we now know that the royal story was rubbish. Scotland will give just as much to the royal family as it currently does. All is right with the world – or at least will be once we’ve spent £150 million on restoring Buckingham Palace.
Phew ... the Queen WILL keep Scotland’s money
Scotland will pay for Buckingham Palace repairs ... but the rUK didn’t pay for Holyroodhouse
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