{"id":1053484,"date":"2026-06-27T12:49:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1053484\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T12:49:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:49:19","slug":"king-calls-for-debate-with-respect-at-opening-of-scottish-parliament-session-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1053484\/","title":{"rendered":"King calls for debate with \u2018respect\u2019 at opening of Scottish Parliament session \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The King told the Scottish Parliament to protect \u201cScotland\u2019s extraordinary natural environment\u201d as he and the Queen attended the opening of its new session on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Charles also encouraged debate to be \u201ccarried out with respect and courtesy\u201d as he gave a speech to mark the beginning of Holyrood\u2019s seventh session since it was established in 1999.<\/p>\n

Following the ceremony, the King and Queen met local heroes nominated by MSPs for their \u201cextraordinary contribution\u201d to communities.<\/p>\n

In his address, the King told Holyrood: \u201cIt gives me the greatest pleasure to join you once again for the opening of a new session of the Scottish Parliament.<\/p>\n

\"CharlesCharles is escorted by Presiding Officer Kenneth Gibson MSP as they arrive for the opening of the seventh session of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh (Jeff Mitchell\/PA) <\/p>\n

\u201cI make no apology for referring \u2013 again \u2013 to the incredible importance of protecting Scotland\u2019s precious natural capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has long been my most fundamental belief that the natural world and human communities are not competing interests, but deeply interwoven ones; that there is an essential harmony between the health of our planet, the natural systems on which we depend and the health of the people that live upon the Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The King added: \u201cIn a global situation of rapid and seemingly accelerating challenge, there will, inevitably, be some aims which can be attained, and others, even with the best efforts, which will remain ambitions only.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut while the outcome might not always be yours to deliver, the manner in which it is pursued lies always within your power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that in mind, and in the knowledge that you are custodians of the democratic traditions long nurtured in these islands \u2013 traditions of which the honours of Scotland set before us are a powerful reminder \u2013 let us continue to show by example that debate can be carried out with respect and courtesy, that disagreement is possible while honouring one another\u2019s dignity, and it is recognised \u2013 whatever views may exist as to the means \u2013 that all those engaged in public service are seeking the same end \u2013 the good of the society we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe King is greeted by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (third right) (Jane Barlow\/PA) <\/p>\n

In response, First Minister John Swinney said that with \u201cuncertainty fuelling deep, personal anxiety, powerful forces bent on division, new politics is, for us, the basis for a renewed hope\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe question today is will we, collectively, live out the new culture of politics that was part of the founding promise, indeed the founding spirit of this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Swinney\u2019s speech was followed by a reading from Scotland\u2019s makar P\u00e0draig MacAoidh, who delivered a poem in Gaelic called Let This Hall Be Full Of Noises.<\/p>\n

Harpist Rachel Groves and vocalist Ellie Beaton performed Robert Burns\u2019s Ae Fond Kiss.<\/p>\n

To close the meeting, the Parliament\u2019s piper, MSP Stuart McMillan, performed Bonnie Dundee and a Hundred Pipers in the members\u2019 garden as the King and Queen departed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The King told the Scottish Parliament to protect \u201cScotland\u2019s extraordinary natural environment\u201d as he and the Queen attended…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1053485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,728,4884,26655,7852,1760,285,5105,712,17038,16,15],"class_list":["post-1053484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edinburgh","tag-britain","tag-edinburgh","tag-environment","tag-great-britain","tag-holyrood","tag-john-swinney","tag-king-charles","tag-politics","tag-royal","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-parliament","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116822159517748987","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1053484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1053484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1053485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1053484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1053484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1053484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}