AMID an ecological collapse, the hoarding of wealth and weapons being built only for profit, Robert the Bruce is calling for Scotland to once again rise up against Empire to secure a better future.

With a rousing speech and song, the legendary Scottish king is writing in today’s National, explaining why the nation must unite once again.

His words come through the medium of Angus Macfadyen – the Scottish film star known for playing the Bruce in Braveheart.

READ MORE: Robert the Bruce: Familiar sound of Empire must be fiercely opposed

His new film, Robert The Bruce, premieres at the prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival on Sunday, and will be in cinemas nationwide on June 28.

In his National column, Bruce writes: “My heart is bleeding. 700 years ago I laid my weary head down at last in a land that was free and proud, a land where my people shared in the common wealth.

“But now I awake to find that all is undone. Your planet is close to ecological collapse. You have extinguished life systematically, you yourselves, who stand at the top of an imaginary food pyramid, live no better than the basest of creatures, because you have handed over the keys of the kingdom to a squabbling pack of hyenas who continue to hoard all the wealth and parade about in the most obscene displays of wealth.”

While we’d be meeting the UK on the ballot paper, not the battlefield, the Bruce believes it’s once again time for Scotland to “rise up” – and make its voice strong and clear.

To that end, he also provides a song “for our hearts and minds”, with a plan of attack on how we create a fairer Scotland.

A fully voiced-over and soundtracked version of Bruce’s column is available on thenational.scot in the online version of his article, with the music by composer Josh Cruddas.

Set in 1306, the Robert The Bruce film picks up where Braveheart left off, with its stars including Daniel Portman, known for his role in Game of Thrones, and Jared Harris, much-praised for his work in the recently released Chernobyl.

As with England trampling over Scottish democracy in the here and now, the film features a similar theme. Robert has crowned himself King, but, as the synopsis continues, “he cannot overcome England’s power: defeated again and again, his army is scattered and Scotland’s nobility abandons him. Hunted, with a price on his head, he finds himself alone and wounded. The cause of freedom seems lost once more.

“Hidden secretly in a secluded farm in a clan pledged to England, Robert regains strength and is nursed back to life by a young widow and her orphan children. His determination to do what is right, regardless of the cost, reinvigorates his passion for Scotland’s freedom.”