After the death of Elizabeth II, the Scots face the question of their independence

After a visit to Edinburgh, the body of Queen Elizabeth II was transported to London. There, the queen’s coffin will be on public display one last time until the funeral next Monday. In front of a compact crowd of Scots, the queen therefore left Saint-Gilles cathedral for good under a shower of applause. “It will change mentalities. We are all here for the queen, whether we are for or against the monarchy”, welcomes Vahina, present in the crowd. The young Scottish woman expresses at the microphone of Europe 1, her pride in seeing the unity of her country.

“The Westminster government is horrible”

A feeling that is not shared by all on the spot. Andy, cigarette in hand, fears on the contrary that the loss of Elizabeth II will revive desires for independence. “The Queen has been there for so long. People live with her without paying attention except on a few rare occasions, like on her birthday. But then, with a big change like that, people will reevaluate the situation and the meaning what it has for them,” he said.

A little further, Tom, moved to tears, bear a lot of affection for the royal family. But yet, the Scot assures that his country has a card to play by taking its independence. “It doesn’t stop us from loving the Queen. It doesn’t stop us from loving the monarchy,” he explains, before adding: “But I think the Westminster government is horrible. We know that ‘we can do better and I hope that in my lifetime Scotland will become independent.”

Independence has more and more the coast

Emancipate yourself from London, a desire shared by more and more Scots. From now on, they are 44% to want to vote ‘yes’ to independence in the event of a referendum, against 46% of ‘no’ according to a Savanta ComRes poll for the newspaper The Scotsman, released last June. Nearly 10% of Scots then answered “being undecided” on their decision. In the 2015 referendum, Scots voted 55% to remain in the UK. It remains to be seen whether the death of the queen will influence some of the Scots to want to leave the country. And if Tom assures that he will carefully follow the first steps of Charles III, the Scot announces it: he will not change his mind.