Elizabeth Queen of Scots

I name this ship Queen Elizabeth II. APPLAUSE

May God bless her and all who sail in her.

During her 60 year reign,

Queen Elizabeth II has witnessed incredible change.

The Royal Family has had to adapt to different governments,

advances in technology and a new political landscape.

One thing has that has remained constant is her commitment

to Scotland and her understanding of the qualities

of the Scottish people.

The grit, determination and humour, the forthrightness

and above all, a strong sense of identity of the Scottish people.

Qualities which contribute so much to the life of the United Kingdom.

And these qualities reflect a Scotland which,

if I may make a personal point,

occupies such a special place in my own and my family's affections.

Three weeks after her coronation,

the Queen pays a state visit to Edinburgh.

A new chapter has already begun

in the relationship between the young monarch and Scotland.

Every year, the Queen moves her household

to the Palace of Holyroodhouse - it's Royal Week in Scotland.

It's a week of pomp, pageantry and ceremony.

Importantly, it's a week in which the Queen reinforces

her strong links with Scotland and the Scots.

Welcome, Your Majesty.

Today is the opening of the recently elected Scottish Parliament.

TRUMPET FANFARE

Presiding officer, First Minister,

members of the Scottish Parliament.

The Duke Of Edinburgh joins me in extending my very best wishes

to you and for this fourth session of Parliament.

The Opening Of The Scottish Parliament is a fairly new addition

to the Queen's many traditional responsibilities during Royal Week.

# Now westlin winds and slaughtering guns

# Bring autumn's pleasant weather

# The moorcock springs on whirring wings

# Among the blooming heather

# Now waving grain Wild o'er the plain

# Delights the weary farmer

# And the moon shines bright... #

Royal Week or Holyrood Week

is an important date in Scotland's calendar.

Every year, the Queen undertakes many engagements.

Some are ceremonial,

some military and some are about bestowing honours.

One of the highlights is to be invited to the annual garden party

at the Palace Of Holyroodhouse.

Oh, I see, how posh!

That's lovely!

SHE LAUGHS

Oh, we get... How lovely. We get a garden party, Joe.

When the invitation came through, it was for myself

and my husband Donald.

I was pleasantly surprised

that my eldest daughter Karen was also invited.

Well, I mean, it's not every 18-year-old that gets to go

to a garden party, do you know what I mean?

Um, I'm really proud of my mum for working so hard

and, you know, to be recognised and stuff but, eh,

it's also quite good that I get

to experience something like that, do you know I mean?

It's not a modern thing, you know, it's kind of an old-fashioned thing

and it'll be good to experience something like that.

I'm looking forward to it a lot.

It'll be something to do with Malawi, probably.

Because I've annoyed so many people!

It's like, "Just give her an invitation to the Palace

"and she'll be happy!" I've no idea.

It'll be would imagine it'll be for that, so that's that.

Quite a lot of the activities during the summer

are all run and organised by volunteers,

and over the various years, I've helped at various events.

Here's the dresses.

Karen's dress and this is my own dress.

That's jolly nice.

Get a chance to wear a hat and shoes that sink into the grass!

So there you go, there's the hat.

Now the hat will go back in the black bag

and travel to Edinburgh.

# The sky is blue The fields in view

# All fading green and yellow... #

The guests at the Royal Garden Party are Scots from all walks of life.

8,000 people from every corner of Scotland attend each year.

# The rustling corn The fruited thorn

# And every happy creature. #

Somewhere in the throng are Margaret Anne, Karen

and those big hats from Barra.

# We'll gently walk and sweetly talk

# Till the silent moon shines clearly. #

Jill, her husband, her hat

and shoes that don't appear to be sinking into the grass.

# Swear how I love thee dearly... #

King George V hosted the first Holyrood Garden Party.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of Scots have attended the event.

# So dear can be

# As thou to me

# My fair, my lovely charmer. #

Since the inception of the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister

has a regular audience with the Queen.

They meet in the evening drawing room of the Palace Of Holyroodhouse.

First Minister Alex Salmond. >

The Queen has a very cordial relationship with Scotland.

I think Her Majesty The Queen likes the concept of Scotland

and therefore it's very easy to speak to the Queen

about Scottish matters.

You're on holiday?

That's right, we went straight to recess

-after you came to see us on Friday.

-On Friday.

'There's often in the conversations not necessarily a direct question

'or comment, but always sometimes an aside, which indicates'

that she knows a great deal about the subjects you're speaking about,

or other related subjects and it's quite fascinating

so I cease to be surprised about that and I am now accustomed

to the Queen being extremely well-informed on Scotland.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on the 21st of April 1926

to the Duke and Duchess of York.

Her father could trace his lineage back to the Stuart kings

and her mother was a member of the Scottish nobility.

Her parents were The Earl and Countess of Strathmore

and home was Glamis Castle, 12 miles north of Dundee.

The future Queen spent many happy times here with her grandparents.

Well, I can really, you know, only refer to some photographs

which I've recently found.

And they show, you know, a very happy time for Princess Margaret

and the Queen when they came to visit their grandparents

and you'll see in the photographs, the Queen very much in her youth.

One of the most wonderful photographs we have

is of the Golden Wedding of the Queen Mother's parents,

the Queen's and my husband's grandparents.

The 14th Earl and Countess of Strathmore.

And the whole family are in it up in the big drawing room.

And at the front, it's very sweet, touching for me

because there's my husband really quite small

and sitting next to him is the Queen holding her teddy bear.

And it's just... The whole family are there and my parents-in-law

and it just looks so happy and all these masses of grandchildren

who all came, all the time.

And I think that is...

That was really one of the loveliest photographs

I've seen of her childhood here.

In 1936, the ten-year-old Princess becomes second-in-line to the throne

when her uncle, Edward VIII,

abdicates to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

Summers at Glamis continue to be as happy as ever.

'Darling Granny, Thank you very, very much for having us

'to stay with you at Glamis.

'It was one of the happiest weeks I have ever spent.

'We had such a loyal, if I might say, reception at the station,

'and when we went out on the platform the crowd sang

'Will Ye No Come Back Again? which was very nice of them.

'We were so miserable going out of the station.

'Please give my love, or ours I should say,

'because I'm writing for Margaret, too, to everybody at Glamis,

'especially Grandfather. With lots of love from Lilibet.'

I think those are two lovely letters that show

what happiness she had at Glamis.

And, um, from a child who's just saying what she thinks

and it's so lovely, isn't it?

Three years later, the world is plunged into turmoil.

The horror of World War Two spreads far beyond the battlefield

and the Blitz brings the terror of warfare home to a beleaguered civilian population.

The Royal Family rises to the challenge.

They appeared and they didn't flee to some remote place

or go to the West Indies or anything. They stuck it out.

I think the King cared deeply, as did the Queen Mother,

about everybody and they knew that. People know that, you can't act it.

Two years after the war is over 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth

marries Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark.

Shortly before the marriage he is given the title,

Duke Of Edinburgh.

After it was over,

we got back and changed and raced back...

to the Palace where everybody was pouring down the Mall

and we got on the steps opposite

and waited to get them out on the balcony.

Everybody shouts, "Come on out, when are you coming?"

and all that went on. And we stood there and it's just the most fun.

The royal couple settle down to family life,

but in 1952, everything changes.

-NEWS REPORT:

-'This is London. It was announced from Sandringham

'at 10.45 today that the King passed peacefully away in his sleep

'earlier this morning.'

On the death of the King, the nation now has a new, young monarch.

She's in Africa when the news breaks.

I was in the country. I heard it on the radio

and then we knew, of course, that they were in Kenya

and what it was going to mean.

And so that was obviously devastating when that news broke

because the whole thing was going to change completely.

And Princess Elizabeth, when she came back, would be Queen.

So as she stepped down from the aeroplane onto British soil,

there she was, the Queen. So that was quite a moment

and I think everybody who saw that photograph...

it just sticks in your mind,

Her figure coming down and Churchill at the bottom of the steps.

I mean, I can see it when I think about it.

And I think there was tremendous popular affection actually

for the king and queen

and Queen Elizabeth II inherited all this.

When Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II,

there was, almost immediately, a challenge to her styling herself

Queen Elizabeth II and the basis of the challenge

was that Scotland had never had a Queen Elizabeth,

so Queen Elizabeth II was incorrectly titled

as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It suddenly became clear to me

that Scotland really only existed as an adjunct of England.

And I began to get involved in nationalist groups

around that time as a young boy.

And some of these groups were involved in defacing pillar boxes

that were put up with the EII-R symbol on them.

And it was a very successful campaign

because ultimately, they removed all EII-R pillar boxes,

you won't find one in Scotland now, and they simply replaced it with

the Scottish crown on the Post Office as it was then, the Royal Mail.

However the actions of a small minority

don't get in the way of the nation's celebrations.

These are austere times and the coronation

gives a weary population the perfect excuse to party.

Oh, I think absolutely, cos the end of the war was pretty awful

and suddenly, it was a new era opening up, it really was.

I mean, long before she became Queen and also the Duke of Edinburgh,

it was wonderful, he had a Scottish title.

And I think we all thought, you know, we're going forward from here.

And, um, no, I think we just definitely...

The Elizabethan era was going to start, you know.

-NEWS REPORTER:

-'And now here comes Her Majesty.'

There are street parties and celebrations throughout the nation.

This time, there is a difference.

The coronation of Elizabeth II is the UK's first ever

major live television event.

I remember it like I suppose an awful lot of other people

in this country remember it because my parents got a television.

And it was a black and white television and I remember

the great excitement of seeing this occasion on television.

Well, I was never enthusiastic, about the coronation back in 1953.

I was only ten-years-old at the time.

Um, but my lack of enthusiasm was not shared by everybody else

in Cowdenbeath, or indeed by some members of my own family.

I can remember my young sister and my mother,

and indeed every woman in the street crowding into the house

of the only family in that street who had a television.

They were all determined to get into that living room to watch

the coronation live from Westminster Abbey.

I think it was the coronation that basically launched the BBC

and television in this country because everybody had radios

before then but, you know, it was the 1950s and along comes

the television and everyone had to see this big event

and it was terrific.

Now we see it in glorious Technicolor, it's still fantastic

and terrific, but, you know, it was very special in those days.

Technology may have moved on in 60 years,

but the media interest in things royal continues to this day.

Figures from the worlds of sport, art, medicine and music

were among those who received honours from the Queen

at Holyrood Palace.

Around 90 people who've made a contribution to society,

both big and small, were recognised at a ceremony in Edinburgh

and Catriona Renton was there.

'They came from all walks of life.

'Today, 90 Scots were honoured by the Queen.'

Mr Douglas MacLean for services to music and to charity.

'And receiving the OBE here at Holyrood Palace

'has special resonance for this musician.'

# Caledonia you're calling me

# Now I'm going home. #

'His song has become synonymous with Scotland,

'an unofficial national anthem.'

It's a song I wrote when I was in my early 20s

and it was from a genuine feeling of homesickness.

I wrote it on a beach in France when I was homesick,

and now it's become a part of common culture and it's sung at rugby games and weddings

and funerals and it is quite strange but I'm very proud of it.

Did she ask you anything, did she ask you about your music?

It's Royal Week and it's Investiture Day.

The recipients of the awards gather nervously

at the Palace Of Holyroodhouse to await their turn to meet the Queen.

So, who are the people who are presented with these honours

and what does it feel like to hear the news?

It was a Saturday morning, the letter arrived

from the Cabinet Office and it sat out at the front desk there,

and I just walked by it as I usually do.

I do the mail at a certain time and I saw this pile of mail

and I saw Cabinet Office on it and it didn't go in

and then about three hours later I walked by it again

and I went, "Oh! Cabinet Office! That's the Prime Minister."

And it was to say, you know, "You've been awarded an OBE.

"Would you accept it?" sort of thing and I was gobsmacked.

Absolutely gobsmacked.

And I think everybody is, I think if you're honest,

you know, you really are.

It's a CBE and I've got it for, you know,

helping the academy through to becoming a conservatoire

of dance, drama and music.

I think it's really...

It really is the pinnacle of...

of being me!

Cos that's what I am. I'm, you know, I'm an involved,

interested, nosy...let me do it.

Um, I keep saying to people...

"If you can't do it any better, then sit down and shut up

"and let me do it.

"Or, do it yourself!"

Oh, I'm very proud, very proud.

I never realised that I would have a son

who would achieve these honours so I'm really pleased.

Delighted, in fact.

I don't know how The Beatles gave theirs back in the '60s, That really annoys me.

But Paul didn't give his knighthood back...which is nice.

That's good.

Families and friends arrive at the Palace for their big day.

This is my favourite sister on this side,

and on that side!

THEY LAUGH

-Excited, yeah. Yeah. Very excited.

-Very excited.

A nervy stomach, but never mind. I'll hold up I think.

Nervous, excited, bit tense.

I'm going to say to her, "I feel as if we were in the younger days of a better country."

Yes! I feel really pumped up about it.

BELL TOLLS

Professor John Wallace.

For services to dance, to music and to education.

The worst part was I was sitting behind...

She's out there and she's got...

a tent on her head, you know!

THEY LAUGHS

And you couldn't see as clear as you would like,

but otherwise, it was all right!

It was wonderful. I had an excellent view of the Queen.

I didn't have a hat in front of me!

The Queen just makes you feel very, very special

for that one moment, and you see all of the people that are round about you.

You know the guy in front of me was George Kerr,

the famous judo champion who's spent all of his life, a lot of his life,

educating the Japanese on judo from Scotland, an incredible thing

and you feel about that high!

You're surrounded by all of these people who've done these wonderful things

and, you know, when it gets to people who have done a lot of community work

and community service and so on, they get the most time from her.

I mean, I felt that was just fantastic what she did today.

She asked me what I had got it for

and I said "Well, basically, victim support."

So she said "Yes, my daughter's very involved in that."

I said "Yes, I know, I've met her a few times at receptions."

I just said we appreciated Princess Anne

being our president because she's very knowledgeable

and very interested, so that was that.

Doctor John Morrison for services to art and to charity.

It's tremendous that the Queen does it, because, you know,

I was sitting there after it was all over

and you're able to take stuff in, and all these people

are all from all over Scotland from, you know, the Shetlands

to Ayrshire and, you know, that's why it's lovely...

Queen of Scots is a great title for her

because that's what it's all about.

It's all Scottish people that she loves and wants to honour

and that's a great gift.

It's a beautiful gift for all these folk...wonderful.

# Caledonia's been everything I've ever had. #

The Queen comes to Scotland a great deal.

I mean, it's not just a question of Royal Week in July.

I mean, she's at Balmoral for much of the autumn

and pays many visits to Scotland.

I don't think Scotland can complain about the attention,

which the Queen, and indeed other members of the Royal Family,

treat our country. It's very, very strong indeed.

It's a strong, historic and current relationship.

-NEWSREEL:

-'With the long, arduous coronation season behind her

'but with a long overseas tour ahead,

'the Queen is now taking a well-deserved holiday

'with her children and, of course, with the family's favourite dogs.

'Presentations take place on the platform at Ballater

'and awaiting Her Majesty outside the station is a guard of honour

'formed by men of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders,

'wearing their new ceremonial uniform.

'The Duke of Edinburgh will be joining the family

'after his regatta holiday at Cowes.

'Incidentally, Scotsmen, everyone in fact, will be glad

'to hear that the Queen herself quashed the rumour

'that Balmoral Castle would be given up as a royal residence.'

Give it up as a royal residence?! Far from it.

The Queen makes sure of that.

If anything, her love of Balmoral will grow over the coming years.

Sitting on the banks of the River Dee, a hundred miles north of Edinburgh,

the castle is the perfect summer retreat for the Royal Family.

Here, there is space. Over 50,000 acres of beautiful Highland scenery.

Here, there is time to relax away from the pressures

of the Royal diary.

Most importantly, here is a family home. Balmoral Castle.

Balmoral features enormously. I think she loves it very much.

It's the same, that's the wonderful thing. It's eternal.

Balmoral is magical, it's eternal.

I think there's a wonderful feeling of security there somehow.

It's just a very, very magical place.

A magical place far away from the curiosity of the world's press

and their cameras.

I think the time at Balmoral must absolutely have been

and BE the opportunity just to be herself

and to be a family and a mother,

and to not be worried about all of the other state matters.

And I think that IS part of the attraction,

is that it is somewhere that you're unobserved.

It is a community where the Royal Family can be without people

pointing and looking and observing and photographing and so on,

and that's really got to be very, very important.

-NEWSREEL:

-'Today, another generation is breathing the bracing air

'of the pine woods and the encircling mountains.

'Prince Charles, Princess Anne and their new brother Prince Andrew,

'here making the first of many appearances.'

She was a working mum from, you know, a very early age.

And to have two months in Scotland where the cameras aren't there

and you've got the kids in the house and it's just you

and...what a difference, that would be amazing!

-You know, and a time to go...

-SHE EXHALES

You know, where the rest of us would slob around in our horrible jeans,

she's constantly, you know, being criticised for what she wears

and so on and how she's bringing her kids up

and to just have that privacy must have been amazing.

You know, just lovely.

And to walk about and have that fresh air and... Ah, brilliant.

You know, you can imagine, can't you? Just brilliant.

Ach, you wouldn't want her job! Just fantastic. Amazing woman.

Well, I've only been there once

and that was a very long time ago but it was great fun.

I can remember a lovely barbecue in the evening

with Prince Phillip cooking and I think I offered to wash up

and was told smartly by other guests

"No, no, you don't offer to wash up because the Queen likes doing it"!

And they just... I think they just love it

because they're all doing things for themselves and being normal.

The Royal Family are just across the river here from us.

I mean, what is it, half a mile, 500 metres, something like that,

to the castle as the crow flies.

They're part of the community and the local people around the area,

are very protective of the Royal Family's privacy.

And I'm sure... Well, I know for a fact that they really enjoy it

and they can come up here and relax.

55,000 acres of Balmoral Castle, they can just go and get lost in the hills as it were.

And they have a freedom that I'm sure they don't have anywhere else.

She's really interested in this community.

She knows the people here... She'll seek out people

to ask them how, what's going on, what they're doing

and how things are developing in the community.

It's, in many ways, very natural, the sort of things you'd expect

from anybody else living in the community.

Life at Balmoral is lived through good times and bad.

The news of Princess Diana's death shocks the world.

The Queen remains at Balmoral.

She was up here and, in fact, the boys were at Balmoral during that time

and they went to London the Thursday or so before the funeral.

I think the folk were very respectful and...although

there was probably a wee bit of backlash

in London and down south,

the locals felt it was

the best place for the children to be at that time.

You know, away from the clamour and the cameras.

BAGPIPES PLAY

Happier times and one of the highlights of the year.

It's the first Saturday in September.

It's the day of the Braemar Highland Gathering.

People come from all over the world to be part of this colourful event

and, of course, to catch a glimpse of the Queen.

Well, I would hope it's as important as it ever was,

and certainly any time Her Majesty comes to the Gathering,

we do get an impression that she enjoys it.

I mean, she enjoys the events and they get fun

and they're obviously keen to come back which is fantastic.

TANNOY: 'First is The Royal Guards.'

APPLAUSE

The secretary of the games is none other than Willie Meston.

It's a position he has held for over 30 years.

Part of my duty is to be there for the presentation

of trophies by the Queen at the Gathering every year.

So I'm fortunate enough that,

you know, I'm the person who's tasked with that presentation.

APPLAUSE

But in 1982, a youthful Willie Meston almost comes unstuck.

-NEWS REPORTER:

-'One of the Queen's duties is to present the trophies.

'The one awarded to the caber tossing champion Jeff Capes

'was clearly quite a heavy burden.

'And Mr Capes was obviously concerned

'about shaking Her Majesty's hand because he still had resin on his.

'Whatever his explanation, it amused the Queen.'

So I thought I was going to be sent to the tower after that,

but she just rolled in laughter, it was great, you know!

And from then on, it was just tremendous.

-NEWSREEL:

-'Nearer to Norway than to Aberdeen,

'the Shetland Islands standing with the tide races

'and the tempests of the North Atlantic.

'Not for 700 years have these islands seen a visit

'from a reigning monarch.'

'That is, until today.'

'Today, all Lerwick is out to greet Queen Elizabeth

'and the Duke of Edinburgh.'

The Queen's welcome visit to the Northern Isles

brings great excitement.

It's clear that not only does she enjoy meeting the people.

but that she loves being on these islands.

-NEWSREEL:

-'The northernmost isle of the Shetland group is lovely Unst.

'Green as an emerald in contrast to the peaty brown of the others.'

Waiting offshore is their beloved Royal yacht, Britannia.

I name this ship Britannia. APPLAUSE

I wish success to her and to all who sail in her.

Britannia will play an important role in the life of the Queen

and the Royal family.

She's designed to sail the world,

but comes into her own during the summer months

when the Queen chooses to cruise among the Western Isles of Scotland.

The Scottish west coast and particularly the Western Isles

and particularly the long island as it's called, Lewis and Harris,

right down through the Uists, down to Barra...

the most wonderful scenery on Earth.

I mean, there is nothing like it

and it's probably the best kept secret of all time.

-NEWSREEL:

-'Lord Macdonald of Macdonald introduces his children

'to the Queen and Duke as they arrive at Callaghan

'for their tour of the Isle Of Skye.

'The islanders see a rare event, the Duke himself driving

'the Queen in an open car on their way to the capital Portree,

'which means in the Gaelic "the King's harbour".

'It was to Portree that Flora MacDonald brought Bonnie Prince Charlie

'on the historic flight over the sea to Skye.'

'The Royal Family lunch at Dunvegan Castle

'which has been for centuries the stronghold of the MacLeod chieftains.

'On to Barra, where the Queen meets 87-year-old Mrs Mary MacNeil

'whose clan settled in Barra 900 year ago

'and built their island fortress.'

My father tells me the story

when the Queen came to Barra

and actually stepped onto Barra

because you know, coming in the royal yacht doesn't actually mean you're physically on the island,

but when she did come to visit, I think it was in 1956,

my father was running a taxi business,

and the boost that that actually brought to his small business

for that few days running journalists around and things like that,

was quite a hype for him,

and I suppose a hype for a lot of people on the island.

But 1956 - I wasn't even thought of!

She anchored just about the middle of the bay here

and she was moored there for the night

and that evening as well, she was fully lit.

You could see the extravaganza

of lights out on this vessel, and we were left with our...

although it was summer time, all we had was tilley lamps

in those days, and some homes had Aladdin lamps.

And because the hydro power didn't come to this island till 11 years later.

So, there was quite a contrast

to see this extravaganza of power and lights out on the bay,

displayed on the bay, and all we could provide

was the bonfires round the castle in reply.

Stories abound of unsuspecting tourists

running into the Queen on remote Scottish islands.

Whatever the truth of these tales,

it is clear that she finds peace and anonymity among these beautiful islands.

Because we're proud of what we've got in our communities

and you know, environment,

that if somebody's come here to enjoy it,

you don't want to pressurise them and annoy them.

Maybe it's just the island "suchter" attitude -

"suchter" being a word of...

gentle...

..quiet.

Aye, gentle, quiet, peaceful kind of way,

and if somebody's made the journey to such a location...

..who would want to spoil that?

For someone who has probably been in every country in the world, and many, many times,

to always end up in Scotland means that she loves Scotland.

And I think it's great that the Queen has that connection with us.

At the end of one cruise, Britannia heads towards Balmoral.

She drops anchor off the Castle of Mey, seven miles from John O'Groats.

It is the highland home of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

In 1993, up at the Castle of Mey,

where I used to go every year and stay with the Queen Mother,

the royal yacht Britannia used to visit

on its cruise round the northern isles, if you like.

And so the royal family who were on board

always used to come to the Castle of Mey for lunch.

And that was a terrific commotion for the staff,

the limited staff that were at the Castle of Mey,

because it's not a big property.

So, suddenly seating 30 people for lunch was stretching things.

Anyway, this particular year, sadly Sir Martin Gilliat who'd been the Queen Mother's private secretary

for many years, since the '50s, had died,

as had the Princess Of Wales' grandmother, Ruth, Lady Fermoy,

and I decided to have a stone cut in their memory

and we all built a cairn in their memory.

And so, after lunch, rather under my command,

the rest of the royal family got involved around the cement mixer

and we happily built a cairn, which is still standing to this day

and well I hope will be for many, many years to come.

Terrific.

All right?

Wonderful.

After almost 44 years at sea,

the Government finally decides to withdraw Britannia from service.

The decommissioning ceremony is a highly emotional event.

At times, Her Majesty appears to be fighting back the tears.

But the pull of the Isles is strong,

and the Queen finds a temporary replacement

in the shape of the small luxury cruise ship, the Hebridean Princess.

Every so often, she charters the ship in order to relive those precious times in the Western Isles.

The directors of the Hebridean Princess asked

if I would put 12 big paintings on board the Hebridean Princess,

when the royal family were going to be on it, they were renting it, if you like,

for their holiday after they lost the beautiful royal yacht Britannia.

Which was in my opinion, a total disaster,

I think they should have kept it, but never mind.

So we decided to put 12 large paintings up of places that the Queen would know.

And it was a great honour to be asked to do that.

I don't know what they thought of them, but hopefully it brightened up their lives

when they were sailing around the Western Isles.

Britannia has returned to Scotland,

and now attracts tourists from all over the world.

The old ship relives some of its former glory

when Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall host an eve of wedding reception.

The younger royals and their friends party into the night.

The next day, the young couple marry at Canongate Kirk.

By royal standards, the wedding is a small affair,

but the whole family is here and the world wants to see them.

It's appropriate that Canongate Kirk plays a role on this special day,

because away from the celebrations, it's an important part of the Queen's life in Edinburgh.

She regularly attends services here.

Well, it's obviously a great privilege to have her majesty

and sometimes his royal highness the Duke of Edinburgh in the palace pew.

Under me, as it were,

but I try and keep everything as normal as possible when they're here,

they go to so many special services and so many different churches and cathedrals,

that when they come here, we try and give them as normal an experience

of a morning service in Canongate Kirk as we can.

When her majesty is in residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse,

if she's here on a Sunday, she would come to our regular morning service, on the Sunday morning.

And she very much considers herself, when she's in residence,

to be resident in the parish and that I would be her minister,

this would be her local parish church.

She's considered a member of the Church of Scotland, like anyone else.

Defender of the Faith in England

and a member of the congregation in Scotland.

It's a difference that seems to suit Her Majesty very well.

11-year-old Zara Phillips attends the marriage of her mother Princess Anne to Tim Lawrence.

The wedding is at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral.

Once again, a fitting location.

The Princess Royal plays a significant role in Scottish life

and she and the Queen know this church well.

I think the church has been very important to the royal family

for generations now. This particular church, this building

was built in the late 19th century

and so the royal family were very much involved

in commissioning this beautiful church.

And I know that the building itself is one that is very familiar to the royal family and it's also,

this is the local parish church,

and has been an important place for them over all these years.

She comes to the church every Sunday, there's only one Sunday in the eight years

I was session clerk that I can recollect she didn't come

and it was intimated...

I think maybe the night before she wasn't going to be able to come

and she was ill.

She'd been up on the west coast

and I think she'd had a terrible dose of the cold or something like that.

But yeah, every Sunday without fail. She's a very committed Christian.

And always on the dot.

Always, absolutely.

28 minutes past, she arrives.

Never, ever late.

Very structured, very organised.

Well, I suppose she has to be, really.

As much things on as she's got to have, I suppose.

Keep time with everything.

They have a long connection with this place, since the 1840s.

They've been very much a part of this parish, this community.

They've had a big influence in what this parish even looks like.

So it's a very close relationship and a very long standing one,

and one that is well understood by the Queen.

And that relationship benefits the local community in other ways.

In the nearby town of Ballater,

nearly all the shops boast a Royal Warrant.

I think it still is a good thing for the village.

Because the tourists enjoy seeing these signs. It is quite unique.

I think Ballater's got more warrants per population than anywhere else in the UK.

Ballater in itself would not be here if it wasn't for royalty,

it was all started after Queen Victoria came here

and fell in love with Balmoral, "my dear paradise".

And it was all from there that Ballater grew, because there was nothing here before, really.

Perhaps living so close to such a high-profile Royal Castle

brings inevitable interest and potential business.

But what impact does the Queen's presence have on the overall economy of Scotland?

Well, I think it can be measured in a variety of ways,

and probably the hardest one to measure is the hard facts

of pounds, shillings and pence.

That's the most difficult thing to try to estimate.

I think certainly in terms of public relations

and people's perception of Scotland,

it's potentially beyond value in many ways.

But further than that, clearly she's someone who by example

wants to spend time in Scotland and who does spend time in Scotland,

and who brings the eyes of the world here, who brings influential guests here,

who is a landowner, who is a resident,

who is an employer of local people

and a user of local services and resources,

so I think there's a wide variety of ways in which she does.

The appeal that she's giving to the rest just in a purely tourist level,

the American and Canadian people we know for instance, and Australians,

know of Scotland because of the Queen's highlighting it,

that she comes here on holiday

and is here so much and is always doing engagements here,

and that highlights it for the rest of the world

and they want to follow suit.

I think we go to town with it.

And in a sense you have to ask yourself,

do we only make a tourist attraction out of it?

Cos we do make a tourist attraction out of it, it is the Royal Mile,

and it is Royal Deeside and, you know, the Queen Victoria trail and so on

and so, no, I think we make a lot out of that.

Something else that attracts tourists -

the army, in full regalia.

It's Royal Week, and the Colours ceremony offers a vivid display of music and marching.

The crowds here are enthusiastic,

though modest compared to the thousands who will visit the Edinburgh Military Tattoo

later in the year.

The Queen has always been very sensitive to the armed forces.

And has always, I think, felt that she was,

even though I don't think she's called supreme commander,

like the President of the United States,

I think she's always felt that, like being head of the Church of England, she's also,

in a sense, head of the armed forces

and the forces fight, after all, for Queen and country, don't they?

And so, she has great sensitivity towards this.

The serious purpose of today is to present new colours to six out of seven Scottish battalions.

There is, of course, one battalion notably absent from this ceremony.

And we think today of the fourth battalion

currently serving in Afghanistan.

Since 1633,

regiments from Scotland have been at the heart of the nation's armed forces.

As your sovereign, I thank you all for your service to your country.

Three cheers for Her Majesty the Queen!

-Hip hip!

-Hooray!

-Hip hip!

-Hooray!

-Hip hip!

-Hooray!

Now the other, more sensitive question

is to how close the Queen is

to, as it were, Scottish hearts and minds.

My own personal sense is that people are actually very fond of the Queen.

And they appreciate the fact that she has continued this link with Scotland

which could, after all, have been severed.

She might have got bored with Balmoral and decided to go and live in the south of France or somewhere.

But she hasn't. And she never had the least interest in the south of France.

And I think people like that.

There's a great affection for the Queen in Scotland

and it's a durability thing, and it's like...through thick and thin.

And it doesn't matter what side you're on,

whether you're a republican, or royalist,

I think people have to take their hats off

to the extreme professionalism with which they carry out their duties

and will find another way for it in the 21st century, who knows,

Alex Salmond may take us into independence, but I still think

that probably the head of state would still be the Queen.

What would happen to the Queen if Scotland became independent?

Every large constitutional process of independence

is a very, very long, drawn-out process,

it will not be done by the conduct for referendum

and the declaration of independence thereafter.

The negotiations about liabilities and assets, and so on,

could easily take a decade or so, and issues such as who the head of state is,

if you don't have to grasp that particular nettle at the first instance,

and it's probably quite wise not to, that can be dealt with down the line.

Scotland might easily become independent, but not lose the royal family.

There's no indication that the Scottish National Party wants to declare a Republic.

In that case, Scotland would be just like any other Commonwealth country

which had the Queen as its head.

Well, she's our Queen. She's the Queen of Scots.

And you know, with great respect, her family, her ancestors,

were Queens and Kings of Scots

before they were Queens and Kings of England.

And the historical continuity of that is very important.

I think even in Scotland sometimes, we have to explain as many times as possible

just the key point here - that the union of the crowns

where James VI became James I of England,

took place more than 100 years before the union of the parliaments.

Course, there's another aspect to this, that the royal family are also part of the joint relationship

of the people of these islands. It's part of what we call the social union,

it's part of the linkages that we have with England and Wales and Ireland,

and that is an important aspect

that we want to cherish, that we want to keep.

But what of the future?

King Charles? King William?

Will the Scottish nation be as ready to embrace the notion of a King of Scots?

It's not so clear that the vast balance of goodwill

which has been accumulated by Queen Elizabeth II

would be transferred to her successor.

In fact, it's almost certain that it wouldn't.

Not in any permanent sense.

But looking ahead as to whether it would be Prince Charles or Prince William or what have you...

..they would have a more difficult job, I think,

getting the approval of the people.

And it may very well be that when the Queen passes on,

or if she ever abdicates,

then there might be a new chapter in the whole history of the royalty in this country

and we may see more and more people of a republican tendency

or, may I say, of a democratic tendency

who would like to see a head of state who is democratically elected.

I think the Queen of Scots will be with us for some considerable time to come,

but let's answer the question this way.

Let's look at other members of the royal family.

If we look at Prince Charles the Duke of Rothesay,

then no member of the royal family has a stronger relationship with Scotland than he has

and I've never seen anybody, anybody, express a greater love for Scotland than he does.

And, you know, incidentally, if somebody is absolutely committed to Scotland,

then people of Scotland will forgive them just about anything,

and Prince Charles is absolutely committed to Scotland

and I think we could look forward at some point into the distant future,

to a monarch with a very strong relationship with the Scottish people.

Oh, I think it would be great.

I would like to see Charles being crowned as King.

He loves Scotland anyway, he loves staying up here,

and no, I think it would be good.

So the next generations of royals

share the Queen's passion for Scotland.

They all play their part in the life of the country,

and no-one more so than Princess Anne.

The Princess Royal counts her patronage of Scottish rugby

amongst her many commitments to Scotland.

And of course, there are the new Royal stars,

the Earl and Countess of Strathearn, William and Kate.

They met at university in Scotland, they set up home in Scotland

and they fell in love in Scotland.

When Prince William eventually becomes King,

the Scottish people can look forward to a monarch

who fully understands Scotland and the Scots.

And one of the most important things about understanding a country

is understanding the full range of its different traditions,

its different strands of history,

and the monarchy is a very important strand of Scottish history.

That is what it's about,

that historic continuity is the justification for the royal family

and for the Queen as Queen of Scots.

# I don't know if you can see

# The changes that have come over me

# And these last few days I've been afraid

# That I might drift away

# So I've been telling stories

# And singing songs

# That make me think about where I came from

# And that's the reason

# Why I feel so far away today

# And let me tell you that I love you

# That I think about you all the time

# Caledonia's been calling me

# Now I'm going home

# And if I should become a stranger

# You know that it would make me more than sad

# Caledonia's been everything I've ever had

# Caledonia's been everything I've ever had. #

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