BALLATER/EDINBURGH The butcher’s shop in the small village of Ballater, dormant in the spring, is closing in. Another of the owners of the traditional HM Sheridan convenience store, merchant John Sinclair have time to chat for a while.
– The royals are regular customers. Queen Elizabeth II departed, and so did the king Charles and the princess Anne, explains Sinclair.
According to him, the boys, the Prince of Wales William and the Duke of Sussex Harryhave not been stung, but their mother, the Princess of Wales Diana was also a customer of the store.
Ballater is located about ten kilometers east of Balmoral Castle.
Charles’ coronation will be held next Saturday in London, but it’s quiet in this Scottish village known to royals.
Shop windows have holiday decorations, and crocheted dolls of the royal couple decorate the mailbox. The shopkeeper believes that the quiet way of life attracts the royals who are harassed by the paparazzi.
Balmoral was the late Queen Elizabeth’s favorite castle. He enjoyed himself and also died in the birthplace of his mother’s family. The King is also known to like visiting Balmoral.
Ballater lives off royalty. HM Sheridan also supplies meat to the court at Balmoral. Therefore, the store has developed a special product to celebrate every festive occasion.
– This time it’s a coronation sausage with pork, plum and cinnamon, says the shopkeeper.
The seasonal product has a price of just under 14 euros per kilo. As the price of food increases, the merchant has to try to compete with service, quality and cooperation with local producers.
Breakfast sausage tastes like a monarch
Something is also known about King Charles’s eating habits in a restaurant that has received several royal awards.
– The king likes lamb, beef and sausages for breakfast. He is not that demanding, but he likes many kinds of food, explains John Sinclair.
The coronation recipe is also related to everyday food. King Charles and his royal consort Camilla chose pie from many suggestions as the recommendation for the holiday weekend.
The coronation pie made according to the official recipe is intended to be served at community lunches organized across the country, where residents of the neighborhoods eat together in honor of the coronation.
The pie, which is easy to make and made from inexpensive ingredients, reflects the court’s effort to take into account the citizens’ financial problems. The “winter of discontent” is behind us, among other things The British broadcasting company BBC writes (you will switch to another service).
There will still be a price tag for the coronation. They are estimated to cost up to a hundred million pounds, says the Scotsman magazine (you will switch to another service).
In Britain, the popularity of the monarchy has been on a slow decline due to, among other things, the institution’s high cost.
The highest support for the monarchy was in 2012, according to the market research company From Ipsos statistics (you will switch to another service). At that time, about 80 percent of the people were supporters.
Published last week of The Daily Mail (you will switch to another service) according to opinion polls, 52 percent of Britons currently support the monarchy. Monarchy is considered negative for Britain by 27 percent. 14 percent did not express their opinion.
The same result can also be seen in other polls about the royals, such as of the YouGov company (you will switch to another service) in regular measurement.
It is estimated that less than ten percent of citizens are passionate royalists. Younger people are less and less fascinated by the sparkle of crown jewels.
However, the monarchy still has great meaning for many people, says the professor of archeology and history Ewen Cameron. From his office on the tenth floor of the University of Edinburgh, he followed the line of mourners circling the Meadows park to Queen Elizabeth’s coffin in the fall of 2022.
– The grief was genuine and deep. The like may not be seen again. Although the Queen was distant, she meant a lot to many, especially older people, reflects Professor Cameron.
We promise restrained partying
He predicts that the coronation of King Charles will be celebrated in a low-key manner, with no major demonstrations for or against.
The professor reminds that in Britain the monarch has a central constitutional and sovereign position in the middle of the parliamentary system.
Britain has no written constitution. If the situation reaches a dead end in daily politics, the prime minister will have to seek the support of the ruler.
This was done, for example, in 2019, when the conservative prime minister Boris Johnson wanted to freeze the Parliament’s activities due to Brexit pain.
“Mystery is needed”
As the old saying goes, royalty only matters as long as people gather to wave under the balcony.
Institutions are reforming along with their members, but modification is difficult, even though the court’s PR team works non-stop for positive publicity.
– If you compare Britain to, say, smaller kingdoms like Denmark or the Netherlands, the cycling monarch in the Netherlands is, for now, in many ways the opposite of Britain. The allure of royalty lies in the mystery, muses Professor Ewen Cameron.
The position of the royal family has changed over the decades. According to Professor Cameron, they used to have significant weight in diplomatic missions as Britain’s representatives in the world.
Brexit has generally reduced the country’s international status. Britain’s role as the head of the British Commonwealth is also shrinking. There are fifteen countries in the inner circle of the community.
– The Commonwealth may shrink in importance to the athletics games of the Commonwealth members every four years.
In Scotland, the royal family is seen in a slightly different light than in the rest of Britain. The ruling party in Scotland, the National Party SNP, has a small republican wing. However, giving up the monarchy is not the number one topic in the political debate.
In Scotland, which supported EU membership, dreams of secession from the Kingdom are facing a headwind. Former Prime Minister of Scotland Nichola Sturgeon unexpectedly resigned in February. The referendum on independence was largely personified by the former chairman of the SNP. Now the party is being shaken by a financial scandal. The police’s investigations investigate, among other things, lost campaign funds. The subject has been written about by, among others, The Times magazine (you will switch to another service).
Professor Ewen Cameron does not believe the end of the monarchy is in sight. King Charles III is unlikely to be the last king of Scotland or the United Kingdom.
– The monarchy has shown its ability to adapt and reinvent itself, to maintain mystery.
will show the coronation of King Charles on Saturday 6 May. broadcast live on TV1 and Areena.
Are you going to watch the coronation? You can discuss the topic on Sun 30.4. until 11 p.m.