PRINCE Charles and his partner Camilla will not be spending the Christmas holidays in Scotland after Nicola Sturgeon reminded the royal household of travel restrictions north of the Border, according to reports.
Holyrood’s current coronavirus guidance states that “unless you have a reasonable excuse ... you must not travel between Scotland and England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Wales”.
However, that did not stop Prince William and his partner Kate from controversially visiting Edinburgh last week, in a tour which some locals reported to police as a breach of lockdown.
The First Minister said that, before the trip, her Government had “made sure that the royal household were aware … of the restrictions in place in Scotland so that could inform both the decision and the planning of the visit".
READ MORE: Lesley Riddoch: Royal privilege proves we are not all in this crisis 'together’
Now, a friend of the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay has told the Daily Mail that their annual Hogmanay trip to Scotland has been cancelled as the pair did “not want to cause trouble”.
The unnamed source added: “They understand the difficulties of travelling during the crisis and look forward to returning to Scotland as soon as possible.”
The paper also reported that Charles and Camilla had spent New Year’s Eve at their Birkhall home on the Queen’s Balmoral estate every year since they married in 2005.
Although the couple will not be crossing the Border, they will still be traveling across southern England during the festive season and early new year. Reports say that they will be spending January at the Prince’s Gloucestershire home, Highgrove, and Camilla’s Wiltshire residence, Ray Mill House.
In March, Charles travelled up to Scotland despite showing “mild symptoms” of coronavirus. Once on the Balmoral Estate, he was tested and returned a positive result.
The royal household declined to comment.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel