Princess Royal on the Marches - Sue Webber

With the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, leading the parade on Mannie, one of the magnificent Grey horses trained at the Tower Farm riding centre in Liberton, it was a great spectacle.

The Princess Royal attends the Riding of the Marches in Edinburgh, an ancient traditional inspection of the town's boundaries to ensure they are secure against encroachment and attack from raiders. The tradition was carried out in the 29 Riding Towns of Scotland. Picture date: Sunday September 14, 2025. PA Photo. The first recorded Edinburgh Riding of the Marches was in 1579, and the Common Land inspection was carried out until 1718. Seventy riders took part in a special riding in 1946 to celebrate the end of the war. The tradition was re-established in 2009. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

It was even more extraordinary to see her closely followed by Lord Provost Dobbie Aldridge, who I’m reliably told has never ridden before but who had been training for the big day up at the centre. If his party boss Ed Davey has his way, horse riding might become another LIb Dem photo stunt.

It was also great to see my old colleague Cllr Iain Whyte carrying the standard and other Conservative councillors, but Edinburgh’s elected representatives were rather thin on the ground. I saw Holyrood’s Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone, but that was about it.

Due to cost restrictions, the whole anniversary seems to have been somewhat low key, but even so I think a bit more could have been done to instil a bit of civic pride. After all, plenty of other places would dearly love to have our depth of history.

Maybe we’ve forgotten how to put on a really big show.