Fury as King Charles made to sit through ‘anti-British’ play | Royal | News
King Charles was reportedly forced to take part in an “anti-English” play to celebrate the opening of the Scottish Parliament. One part of the show is said to suggest that the British Empire was racist.
Opposition MSPs have since criticized the vote, which was ordered by parliamentary officials, as “historically ignorant” and “divisive”. The performance, titled As Others See Us, included an excerpt from Through a Shortbread Tin, which reportedly contained anti-British attitudes. It came after the King, joined by Queen Camilla, addressed Scottish political leaders at Holyrood hall to mark the start of the seventh Scottish Parliament term following elections in May; this included praise for the Tartan Army following their performance at the ongoing World Cup in the USA.
As reported by TelegramScottish Conservative Party leader Russell Findlay said: “Many people say this performance was an unfortunate and unnecessary note. It was disrespectful to the King, especially after he had given such a thoughtful and dignified speech.”
“At such state events, parliament must not allow veiled attacks on the monarchy or the peddling of petty nationalist sentiments and historical ignorance.”
Meanwhile, the party’s justice spokesman, Stephen Kerr, wanted to know who approved the play’s script. Reportedly, there was an exchange between two Scots about whether their nation was on the “right side of history”, with one of them claiming that Scotland was a more moral country than England.
Mr Kerr said: “Those responsible need to give a full explanation to Parliament and the public. They must tell us who approved this performance, what measures were followed and why they believed it was acceptable to inject such divisive politics into one of Scotland’s most important constitutional events.”
Thomas Kerr, deputy chairman of Reform, said: “Questions need to be asked about the anti-British, anti-monarchist poem read by the National Theater of Scotland. Whoever thought this was a good idea is an embarrassment to Scotland.”
A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: “As Others See Us was a theater show in which young people explored issues surrounding culture and identity. Our Opening Ceremony program, as in previous years, included a range of performances from different organizations across Scotland.”
