Even some republicans think Royal Family is a national asset – Susan Dalgety

Scottish Greens may not like Duke of Edinburgh title going to Edward Windsor but the public don’t seem to mind

I sometimes wonder if some of our local politicians use AI apps to write their material. A cursory glance through the agenda for last week’s full council meeting threw up some corkers, particularly from the Scottish Greens. I agreed with much of Councillor Kayleigh Quinn’s motion on Edinburgh as a Feminist City, but was confused by her use of the term “women and people of marginalised genders”.

Luckily my new best friend, chatbot AI Smith, was able to help. “Marginalised genders include people who are not male or female,” it told me with all the authority of an alien life form. Perhaps the machines are not so clever after all.

But the motion that made me laugh out loud was the one from Councillor Ben Parker on the subject of Edward Windsor. It took me a couple of minutes to work out he meant the King’s youngest brother, Edward, the newly minted Duke of Edinburgh. It seems the Scottish Greens are unhappy that “Charles Mountbatten-Windsor” (the King) “gifted” the title of Duke of Edinburgh to Edward on his 59th birthday. And Councillor Parker and his colleagues are mightily aggrieved that there wasn’t a consultation with the people of Edinburgh over who should be given a title bearing the name of their city.

If there was a public vote for Duke of Edinburgh, might people choose writer Ian Rankin? (Picture: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

Frankly, I have more pressing things to worry about than whether a balding Royal now bears the same title as his father, Prince Philip, who wore it well for nigh on 70 years, but I do wonder who the people of Edinburgh would choose if given the choice. Sir Ian Rankin perhaps? My trusted AI app let me down, telling me it couldn’t provide an accurate answer to the question, as the popularity of a person varies depending on different factors, such as age, gender and social groups.

A fair point, one the Scottish Green councillors may do well to appreciate. A recent poll shows that Scots would vote to keep the monarchy if asked, with even one in five of republicans saying the Royal Family is a national asset. So while the Scottish Greens believe the Duke of Edinburgh is an “illegitimate” title, I suspect the majority of Edinburgh folk are quite happy that it has been passed on to Edward Windsor.