A letter to Prince William: Please don't be misled by Unionists - Helen Martin

Dear Prince William,

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on a recent trip to Edinburgh. PIC: Phil Noble/Getty.

It seems you and Kate are going to spend a lot more time in Scotland following instructions from Palace officials. The aim is to boost the Union, just as it is from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown who, along with his wife Sarah, met you and Kate in Holyrood to encourage the same effort.

The majority of people in Scotland backed the SNP with their constituency votes, so it may not be easy for you to persuade anyone, other than some in St Andrews and Balmoral, your familiar places. And I feel sorry for you being misled.

Let’s start with Gordon Brown, the Labour MP from 2007 who lasted for three years. Prior to that from 1997, he was the Chancellor for ten years and caused mayhem. In 1999, he sold 401 tonnes of gold reserves in what was seen as a “boom” time, for which he received $275 per ounce. After that gold prices shot up, we moved into a recession, and by 2011 an ounce was $1,900.

He also stripped billions off pension funds, again being deluded that the boom would continue. He abolished tax relief on the dividends from their investments. The boom ended.

He only covered as PM once Tony Blair stood down and of course, failed at the next election.

In 2014 with the first Indy Ref, he very much “misled” voters by saying we would stay in the EU if we voted “No”, and that the UK would set up an equal, federal partnership.

Now something that you must remember when taking his advice, is that Scotland has only one Labour MP in Westminster. Thus, many consider Brown irrelevant.

The other crucial question is are you and the Royal family working for the Tory party, Boris Johnson and Westminster, or for yourselves?

The National newspaper, which supports and covers everything to do with independence, ran a two-page special showing the writer’s belief that the majority of Scots would want to keep the monarchy once independence was achieved.

And if independence does happen, there is indeed a plan for another referendum on the monarchy. Several SNP MSPs and party members have different opinions. Some think we should keep the Royals, there must be some who think not, and there are many who think it is not a decision to be made by the government but by the public.

The point is, Prince William, that you do have a chance of remaining as Britain’s monarchy even if Scotland is separate and independent from England (and possibly Wales and Northern Ireland, depending on their future.)

But if, as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn and as an eventual heir to the throne, your current role in Scotland is now to bolster Unionism and persuade people to continue to be treated as a ”region” of the UK, all you are doing is alienating those who want to leave the UK and forcing them to vote against Royalty in the post-independent monarchy referendum.

Westminster certainly wants to rule Scotland, but surely you want to achieve the best for the Windsors and the monarchy.

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