Why the Queen’s title prompted controversy in Scotland at start of her reign

Queen unlikely to visit church in Scotland says Palmer

This year, the nation celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and for the last 70 years the monarch’s reign has gone by without many major hitches. But the Queen faced significant opposition in Scotland when she ascended the throne, as it was decided she would reign as Queen Elizabeth II despite the fact Queen Elizabeth I had never reigned over the nation.

Queen Elizabeth I was one of England’s most famous monarchs, but the Union of the Crowns did not take place until after Elizabeth’s death in 1603.

After this point, King James VI of Scotland was also styled King James I of England.

But to avoid holding a separate title in Scotland, it was decided that the Queen would be styled as Queen Elizabeth II across the UK when she ascended the throne in 1952.

The move was met with protest, and many took offence to the new post boxes set up in Scotland bearing the Queen’s cypher, E II R.

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Why the Queen’s title prompted controversy in Scotland at start of her reign (Image: GETTY)

The Queen pictured visiting Scotland shortly after her coronation in 1953 (Image: GETTY)

Subsequently, it was decided that post boxes in Scotland would only carry the Crown of Scotland, to avoid further public anguish.

The issue of the Queen’s title seemingly remains a political issue in Scotland, and the Telegraph reported this week that the Scottish government asked for changes to be made to how the Queen was referred to in a Platinum Jubilee children’s book.

Objections were reportedly aired about the Queen being titled Queen Elizabeth II within the book as “she is not the second Queen Elizabeth here”.

A Scottish government spokesman told the publication: “The book is a UK Government project and they are responsible for its content, development and distribution.

The Queen visits Scotland every year during the summer (Image: GETTY)

“Scottish government officials were given sight of drafts and provided feedback to the Department for Education upon request.”

There is support in Scotland for a second independence referendum, and it seems Scottish people are also divided on whether they support the monarchy too.

In May of this year, a Focaldata survey for the British Future think tank found that 45 percent of people in Scotland favoured keeping the monarchy, a stark contrast to the 58 percent of people in Britain as a whole who favoured keeping it.

The same survey found that a quarter of people in Britain would favour the nation becoming a republic at the end of the Queen’s reign.

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The Queen and Royal Family are known to adore their private Scottish residence, Balmoral Castle (Image: GETTY)

In Scotland, this figure was higher at above a third (36 percent).

The Queen is known to hold a special place in her heart for Scotland, and every year she spends much of her summer in Scotland visiting the Palace of Holyroodhouse and her beloved private Balmoral Estate.

Through her late mother’s family, the aristocratic Bowes-Lyon family, the Queen also has familial links to Scotland.

The Queen’s love of Scotland was evident before the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, when she made a rare statement expressing her hope voters would “think very carefully about the future”.