The King opens Royal Week with key ceremony and a glorious Garden Party

By JOHN PAUL BRESLIN, WEEKEND NEWS EDITOR - SCOTLAND Published: 22:38, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 22:38, 30 June 2026 Smiling as he chatted with members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, King Charles appeared in good spirits as he officially started his week in Scotland. The King, who opened the Scottish Parliament on Saturday, cut a dapper figure in a grey suit with a blue cornflower in his lapel as he was presented with the keys to the city of Edinburgh in a ceremony marking the start of Royal Week. Charles attended the traditional Ceremony of the Keys in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, his official residence in the capital. Each year the monarch traditionally spends a week based at Holyroodhouse, an event known as Holyrood Week or Royal Week in Scotland. After Charles arrived by helicopter, a guard of honour was provided by Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland. Also on parade were the King’s bodyguard for Scotland – the Royal Company of Archers. Music was provided by the band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Pipes and Drums of 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland. Charles met senior military figures and received a royal salute during the ceremony. The King cut a dapper figure as he chatted to members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh The Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldridge presents the keys to the City of Edinburgh to King Charles Edinburgh Lord Provost Robert Aldridge presented the keys to the King, holding them on a red cushion. Mr Aldridge said: ‘We, the Lord Provost and members of the City of Edinburgh Council, welcome Your Majesty to the capital city of your ancient and hereditary kingdom of Scotland, and offer for your gracious acceptance the keys of Your Majesty’s good city of Edinburgh.’ In return, Charles gave the traditional reply: ‘I return these keys perfectly convinced that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and councillors of my good city of Edinburgh.’ And while the cornflower in his lapel might seem like nothing more than a fashion accessory, it holds significance in terms of his work raising issues affecting the environment. The humble blue cornflower can frequently be seen in the monarch’s buttonhole and has been a regular feature of his attire for many years. For instance, it appeared in a striking photographic portrait by Nadav Kander in 2013. Now endangered in its natural habitat, the flower draws attention to the King’s environmental concerns. This interest was something he touched upon at the weekend as he opened the Scottish Parliament. During the ceremony on Saturday, he told MSPs the planet's climate was ‘changing dangerously’ and warned its biodiveristy was being ‘seriously depleted’. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.