New king Charles III and the Royal Family are no strangers to Edinburgh. And the Queen’s lying at rest in St Giles Cathedral following her death last year at the age of 96 cemented the city’s place in recent Royal history.
As the coronation approaches, here are some of the familiar buildings in the Capital which have a special link with Charles and his family.
. The Palace of Holyroodhouse
The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the monarch's official residence in Scotland and the Queen traditionally spent a week based there in June each year, when she would make visits across the central belt and further afield as well as hosting ceremonies at the palace. The 16th-century historic apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the state apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence. The Queen's Gallery was built close to the palace, opposite the Scottish Parliament, and opened in 2002 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. Photo: Unknown
. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons Nicolson Street Edinburgh / Surgeons Hall The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was founded in 1505 by Royal Charter granted by King James IV. It is the oldest surgical college in the world with just under 30,000 members in 100 countries. And among its famous sons were James Young Simpson, who discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform in 1847, and Joseph Lister, pioneer the use of antiseptics to combat infection in 1867. In 2022, Charles followed in the footsteps of his father by becoming patron of the college - Prince Philip had served as patron for 66 years, having first taken on the role in 1954. Photo: Sean Bell
. Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh's Botanic Garden was first established in 1670 near the Palace of Holyroodhouse. And it has enjoyed Royal status since 1699 when King William III bestowed a Royal Warrant on the first Keeper of the Garden. Since that time, each of the garden’s 16 chief executives has been appointed by the reigning monarch and held the title of Regius Keeper. The Queen visited the garden several times and Charles and Camilla toured the garden in October 2021 to mark its 350th anniversary. 01-10-2021. Picture Michael Gillen. EDINBURGH. One year and 191 days of UK wide coronavirus restriction measures. Day 54 of almost no restrictions. Scotland is now below Level zero, Level 0. EDINBURGH. 20A Inverleith Row. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Duke and Duchess of Rothesay visiting the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Charles, Prince of Wales, Duke of Rothesay (Prince Charles) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay toured the gardens. Tour led by Dominic Fry, Chairman and Simon Milne, Regius Keeper. Photo: Michael Gillen
5. Canongate Kirk
Canongate Kirk in the Royal Mile is the Royal Family's parish church when they are at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and they often attend services there. It was also the venue for the Royal wedding in 2011 of Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips to rugby star Mike Tindall. Another couple who were due to be married at the church that day had to switch their wedding to Greyfriars Kirk instead. Although Charles will become supreme governor of the Church of England as part of the coronation ceremony, north of the border the monarch is a member of the Church of Scotland. Photo: Alan Macdonald
6. Royal Yacht Britannia
The Royal Yacht Britannia, now a major tourist attraction docked at Leith, was a long-time favourite of the Royal Family and the Queen was visibly upset at its decommissioning in 1997. But Charles' own memories of the ship may be mixed - he and first wife Princess Diana went for a cruise on Britannia as part of their honeymoon, starting from Gibraltar and visiting Algeria, Tunisia, Sicily, the Greek islands and Egypt. Built in Clydebank and launched in 1953, Britannia sailed 1.1 million miles around the globe and visited 696 foreign ports in its 44 years of service. After its decommissioning, several cities competed to become its final mooring place and Edinburgh won. Photo: Yacht Events Ltd
7. St Giles Cathedral
Members of the Royal Family have attended countless services at St Giles Cathedral over the years to marking national occasions, but now its most important association has become with the lying at rest of the late Queen Elizabeth II following her death at Balmoral last year. Since she died in Scotland, the pre-determined plan was that she would be brought to Edinburgh first before being flown to London for the state funeral. It gave people in Scotland the opportunity to pay their own tribute to Britain's longest-reigning monarch by filing past her coffin in St Giles. Charles and his siblings stood vigil over the coffin for a time. Photo: John Devlin
8. The Royal Mile
Edinburgh's most famous street, the Royal Mile - which is actually just over a mile - links the Castle at the top with the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot and has been a traditional processional route for kings and queens for 500 years. In between the Castle and the Palace are two other key buildings familiar to the Royals, St Giles Cathedral and Canongate Kirk. And the ceremonies which followed the Queen's death last year included the journey of the coffin from the Palace to St Giles when Charles and his siblings walked behind the hearse. Photo: Craig Stephen