Podcast 27 – Highlights of Day 1 & 2 of Kate & William’s Royal Visit to Scotland

Prince William went solo for the first part of his & Kate’s Royal visit to Scotland, doing what a lot of hubbies do when away from the kids and the wife for “work” – he did some work, followed by a kick around on the football pitch, followed by drinks down the pub and watching the game on the TV,  and ending off with a drive around a racetrack. OK I am being a tad sexist but in a nutshell, this is what William did on the first two days of his visit to Scotland.

Each year, The Queen appoints a Lord High Commissioner to represent the Sovereign at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This year it is William’s turn in the role.

Prince William gave a speech for the Queen ahead of the opening of the May Virtual General Assembly reaffirming the Queen’s support or an independent Church of Scotland, and with William setting out the purpose for his and Kate’s visit in Scotland, which is to listen and to learn how people and organizations are tackling some of the biggest problems of the time, including mental health, homelessness, and addiction.

William spoke of how Scotland was incredibly important to him, having visited since he was a small boy, and remembering childhood holidays spent in the fresh air, swimming in the lochs and family barbeques with Prince Phillip in command.  

William spoke of finding solace in Scotland  when he was grieving the death of his mother. And of course this is where he met Kate. 

Work done William was off to play a spot of football at Ainslie Park Stadium in Edinburgh, home of the Spartans FC where William also participated in a zoom chat, and heard about progress in the Heads Up ‘Mentally Healthy Football’ declaration in Scotland,  and the hard work being done to create environments that encourage people to speak openly about their mental health.

William continued the football theme on the 2nd day of his visit to Scotland at the Cold Town House (Pub) located in view of Edinburgh Castle, where he joined football fans from across the Scottish emergency services, alongside their friends and family members, at the rooftop bar to watch the Scottish Cup Final between Hibernian and St Johnstone.

 William rounded off the 2nd day of his visit with a race in an electric racing car with company Extreme E at the Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife. Extreme E is a series of international off-road races that use electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Amazon rainforest or the Arctic. All race venues are chosen to raise awareness of some aspects of climate change and Extreme E maintains a "Legacy Program" that aims to provide social and environmental support for those locations.

Per the Extreme E website, their racing series not only  draws awareness to the climate crisis, it is also the first motorsport series in the world to have a fully gender equal sporting format, with it built into the rules that each team must field a male and a female driver. 

Racing driver, Catie Munnings, said it was a honour to host and teach Prince William some basic racing driving skills, a day she will not forget!

There will be pressure from the Palace and from the UK Prime Minister, for William and Kate to have a successful visit in Scotland. Their trip comes within a very short time of the recent elections in Scotland, the results of which will likely bring a request for a second Scottish referendum about whether Scotland should become independent  from the rest of the UK. 

Keep listening in for future podcasts about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. You can reach out to me by twitter Jeanette Songolo @kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle (@JeanetteSongolo) / Twitter or by email at [email protected]