Holyrood Week 2021

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The Queen is visiting Scotland for Holyrood Week between June 28th June and July 1st, to undertake a range of engagements celebrating Scottish community, innovation and history. The Queen will stay at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the sovereign’s official residence in Scotland, during her annual week-long stay in Edinburgh, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. The Queen will visit businesses, charities and cultural institutions that highlight the pioneering work taking place to further community engagement, education, technology and efforts to combat climate change.

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On June 28th, the Queen was accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn in Scotland, as they visited the AG Barr’s Factory in Cumbernauld to open their new process facility. They were given an overview of the history of the company before meeting employees to learn about the company’s place in the local community. The Queen and Duke also viewed products and the Duke got to sample some of AG Barr’s famous Irn Bru.

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That afternoon, the Queen and Duke of Cambridge attended the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The ceremony, which always takes place at the start of Royal Week, saw the Queen inspect the guard of honour on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, before being officially welcomed to Edinburgh by the Lord Provost, who offered her the keys of the city. Afterwards, the Queen and Duke met local volunteers and first responders to thank them for their efforts during the pandemic.

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The following day, the Queen received the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, and Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone in Audiences at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, before visiting Stirling Castle to reopen the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ Museum in her capacity as patron of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Association. The Queen was presented with the keys to Stirling Castle before viewing a range of exhibitions on display which reflect the Highlanders’ proud military history.

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On June 30th, the Queen and the Princess Royal visited The Children’s Wood Project in Glasgow to learn about the work of the outdoor community initiative, which aims to encourage a happy, healthy and resilient community through access to green space and outdoor learning. The Queen and the Princess Royal spoke to local young people about the benefits of the Wood Project and their experiences of having access to the outdoor space, particularly during the pandemic. As part of a volunteering session at the beekeeping area, they heard from local beekeepers who lend their time to maintaining the wood’s beehives, before meeting a group of community gardeners tending to their allotments. Afterwards, the Queen and the Princess Royal met schoolchildren and teachers from East Park Primary School. As the group toasted marshmallows, they heard about the project’s educational initiatives and the children’s experiences of taking part in forest school sessions at the Wood Project.

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Later, the Queen and the Princess Royal visited the Skypark in Glasgow to meet two companies who are leading the way in the space technology field. They spoke to staff from AAC Clyde Space, which specialises in the development of advanced satellites, used to collect data for maritime surveillance, environmental monitoring and weather forecasting. The Queen and the Princess visited the production site, and met representatives from the UK Space Agency. Next, the Queen and the Princess Royal visited the offices of Spire Global and viewed a demonstration by staff on the data that is collected by the company’s constellation of satellites in orbit above the Earth’s atmosphere.They heard how this information is used for weather forecasts, GPS navigation at sea, the development of renewable energy sources, and to learn more about the planet.

Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow later this year, the Queen and the Princess Royal, Chancellor, visited Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI) at the University of Edinburgh to learn about their work to combat climate change. The Princess Royal has been Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh since 2011 – a role previously held by the Duke of Edinburgh, who became chancellor in 1953. During the visit, the Queen and the Princess Royal spoke to staff and students about their pioneering research into ways to reverse the effects of climate change across planetary health, oceans, sustainable food systems and earth observation. They also heard from academics about the newly-launched Edinburgh Earth Initiative, which will be a focal point for the University’s teaching and research on climate. As well as supporting the creation of global partnerships to deliver climate solutions, it will also offer scholarship opportunities for students from communities most at risk from climate change, to better investigate ways to combat its effects. At the end of the visit, the Queen and the Princess Royal met representatives from the Children’s Parliament who explained their recent contribution to Scotland’s Climate Assembly, which was supported by the ECCI. The children presented the Queen with two trees that will be planted as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, a UK-wide tree planting initiative to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee next year.

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3 thoughts on “Holyrood Week 2021”

  3. It’s so wonderful to see things returning to normalcy little by little! You never truly know how much you enjoy things until you can’t do them any more! The Queen and the Earl of Strathearn looked great as they went about their visits.

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