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The Queen’s unexpected visit to Scotland packs an ever-so-polite political punch

The Queen donned a powder blue coat and hat adorned with purple and white flowers at the Ceremony of the Keys - Jane Barlow
The Queen donned a powder blue coat and hat adorned with purple and white flowers at the Ceremony of the Keys - Jane Barlow

As Nicola Sturgeon put the final flourishes to her latest roadmap to independence, the royal train chugged almost unnoticed into Scotland.

On board, to the surprise of even dedicated royal watchers, was the Queen, who has so rarely appeared in public recently but pulled out all the stops for this.

In a powder blue coat and hat adorned with purple and white flowers, she was beaming and serene as she took part in the Ceremony of the Keys she has seen so many times before.

And so without speaking - and indeed almost without moving in public - she embarked on just the sort of show of soft diplomacy she has spent 70 years perfecting.

The Queen’s affection for Scotland is well-known: it is home to her most precious family memories, a retreat from the cut and thrust of public life, and a source of genuine pride in the continuation of the Union.

On Tuesday, that Union is under threat again, as the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon prepares a new push for a second independence referendum.

Seeking another vote in October next year, she will argue that Westminster is “taking a wrecking ball to the idea of the United Kingdom as a voluntary partnership of nations” unless the Scottish people are allowed to decide their future all over again.

Last time, as Scotland prepared to vote in 2014, the Queen made a rare intervention.

In comments royal experts have argued about ever since (were they as pointed as they sounded? Did she intend for them to be heard?), she spoke to wellwishers outside Crathie Kirk near Balmoral to let it be known: "Well, I hope people will think very carefully about the future."

The vote went in favour of the Union.

This week, as the SNP seek to overturn it, the Queen will make no such comments.

The Queen beamed despite the rain, as she was accompanied by the Earl and Countess of Wessex - Jane Barlow
The Queen beamed despite the rain, as she was accompanied by the Earl and Countess of Wessex - Jane Barlow

Instead, her mere presence will be a reminder of all she stands for: continuity, tradition, and that hard-to-define relationship between the Queen and her people.

All week, members of the Royal family will put on a show of force, from a full military parade for the Platinum Jubilee to a church service, investitures and tea-and-scone-filled garden party.

The timing on their part is a genuine coincidence: the week happens each year regardless of what is happening in Scottish politics.

But the Queen did not have to attend.

Having missed a succession of high profile and previously annual events in the royal calendar as a result of well-documented mobility issues, there was almost no expectation that she would be there in person.

Her Majesty to meet with Sturgeon

If she could miss the State Opening of Parliament and her beloved horse racing, the theory goes, she could certainly be excused the long trip from Windsor to Edinburgh.

Instead, she packed up her court for a week at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, donning an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander brooch for good measure.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, will this week meet with the Queen in a customary audience - Jane Barlow
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, will this week meet with the Queen in a customary audience - Jane Barlow

Among the outings this week will be a meeting with Ms Sturgeon. The customary audience, in the same week the First Minister outlines her “ route map to the referendum”, will allow the Queen to hear Ms Sturgeon’s proposals and offer advice as diplomatically as possible.

If another independence referendum is the absolute last thing she wants to live through again at the age of 96, she will not feel able to say so explicitly.

But just by turning up, the Queen will pack an ever-so-polite political punch as only she can.