Queen Elizabeth II received in audience Wednesday, June 29, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the day after the announcement by the leader of her desire to organize a new referendum on the independence of Scotland in 2023.
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The 96-year-old sovereign received the leader of the SNP independence party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, where she is staying as she takes part in a traditional week of royal events in Scotland with several members of her family. Dressed in a flowered dress, she was filmed during the meeting without the cane on which she now often leans. Nicola Surgeon gave him a bottle of a limited edition Johnnie Walker whisky. The content of their exchange was not disclosed. Despite strong opposition from the British government, the Scottish First Minister reaffirmed her determination on Tuesday to hold a new referendum on Scottish independence on October 19, 2023. She said she had asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the Scottish Parliament had the power to legislate to organize this referendum without London’s agreement.
Read alsoSecond public appearance in two days for Elizabeth II, in Scotland
Scots had already been consulted on the subject in 2014 and had voted 55% to remain within the United Kingdom, and based on this vote, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson argues that such a referendum cannot happen “only once per generation“. Reacting to this project while on his way to the NATO summit in Madrid, Boris Johnson had promised to study it “very carefully» and to answer «appropriately“. The queen, who shows up more and more rarely due to problems getting around, had attended a parade of the armed forces in Edinburgh on Tuesday, smiling and with a cane. In early June, the British had celebrated for four days the 70 years of reign of Elizabeth II, who is the oldest monarch in the world in office.
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