Coronation King Charles III: Feathers, flags, robes and the Scots nobles at the centre of the Coronation

Under the weight of feathered hats, velvet robes, pressed tunics and raised standards, a roll call of aristocrats, nobles and highly decorated professionals are preparing to represent Scotland, its heraldry and its ancient royal history in the deep ceremony of the coronation tomorrow.

A mix of the hereditary and the honoured will represent the country during the coronation service, with some of the titles of those with ceremonial roles dating back to the reign of Robert the Bruce.

The Lion Rampant will appear in Westminster ahead of the King’s Procession and will be carried by Alexander Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee, the hereditary Bearer of the Royal Banner of Scotland, whose ancestors were granted the honour by Robert I in the early 12th century.

He is one of more than a dozen Scots who will have a ceremonial role during the coronation, with duties ranging from presenting the Coronation Ring to King Charles III to carrying the Sceptre with Cross just before the moment of crowning.

The Lord Lyon King of Arms, Dr Joseph Morrow, will take part in the King's Procession to Wesminster Abbey on Saturday with six officers from the Court of the Lord Lyon, Scotland's heraldic authority. (Photo by Neil Hanna / AFP)

Elizabeth Roads, secretary of the Order of the Thistle, the highest order of chivalry in Scotland whose 16 knights are drawn from the worlds of business, politics, law and medicine, said: "At the coronation of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 14 Commonwealth realms, Scotland really has a good representation.”

David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead, a retired Scottish judge who served as the first deputy president of the Supreme Court, will represent the Order of the Thistle tomorrow.

The Order, which was probably set up by James III of Scotland in the 15th century, is instantly recognisable by the black velvet hats replete with ostrich feathers and deep green velvet mantles with white shoulder ribbons. A chain featuring a single thistle and an enamelled badge showing St Andrew carrying his cross of martyrdom is also worn, along with the Star medallion, which features a second thistle and the motto Nemo me impune lacessit – ‘no one harms me with impunity’.

Two other members of the order will undertake ceremonial duties during the coronation, including Lord Narendra Patel, an obstetrician recognised for his ground-breaking and life-saving work that began at the universities of Dundee and St Andrews and was chiefly applied at Ninewells Hospital,

Lady Elish Angiolini, Scotland's former Lord Advocate and a member of the Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivarly, will take part in the Recognition part of the Coronation ceremony . PIC PA.

Tomorrow, he will step into the the coronation theatre at Westminster Abbey, where he will present King Charles III with the Coronation ring, which is set with a blue sapphire, representing the Saltire, and crossed with rubies to symbolise St George.

Speaking between rehearsals at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, Lord Patel said: “It’s a very brief role, but it is a very, very significant role. I present the ring on a cushion to his majesty and he touches it.

“I need to make sure I get it right. I now have rather old hands.

“I am getting lots of comments from the grandchildren, reminding me not to drop it.”

The Duke of Buccleuch (centre), flanked by two Officers of Arms, with the Stone of Destiny. The Duke is among those due to present the King's regalia on Saturday. PIC: Russell Cheyne/PA Wire

He added: “I'm not the kind of person to get emotional, I am just concentrating on getting it right. I’m here at rehearsals, but on Saturday, with the abbey completely full and with lots of music, it is a different scenario.”

Shortly after Lord Patel presents the ring, the Sceptre with Cross will be presented to the King by The Most Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross & Caithness, and Primus of the Episcopal Church in Scotland.

The regalia symbolises temporal power and is fitted with the largest clear cut diamond in the world, which came from a mine in South Africa,

The bishop said he was “delighted and honoured” to take part in the “powerful moment” of the coronation.

Lord Hope of Craigend and Lord Patel of Dunkeld (back left and right), both Knights in the Order of the Thistle, will take part in the Coronation service. Lord Patel will present the Coronation Ring to the King. PIC: Order of the Thistle.

Beforehand, the Sceptre with Cross is due to be presented to the altar by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, but his role may change given the sudden death of his wife, Elizabeth, last week.

Rt Rev Dr John Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh in the Scottish Episcopal Church, will take part in the coronation procession, as will Dr Joseph Morrow, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the chief of Scotland’s heraldic authority, along with six officers of the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales will be represented in his role as the Great Steward of Scotland by investment banker Anthony Lindsay, the 30th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres.

Lady Elish Angiolini, who served as Scotland’s first female Lord Advocate from 2006 and 2011 and was appointed to the Order of the Thistle in 2022, will also perform a ceremonial role at the Recognition.

Glasgow-born Lady Elish will participate alongside four others, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the Recognition presenting the King to the north, south, east and west of the abbey and asking those gathered to recognise “your undoubted King”. In each direction, the congregation is invited to respond “God Save King Charles”.

Following the Recognition, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, will present a Bible to the King in a tradition that dates back to the joint Coronation of William III and Mary II in 1689.

Dr Greenshields said the coronation would be a “very special moment in history".

Merlin Hay, the 24th Earl of Errol, will serve as Lord High Constable of Scotland at the coronation. Historically a military role that was charged with the King’s protection, it has been held by the Hays of Errol since the reign of Robert the Bruce, who made it a hereditary title.

The Lord High Constable ruled over cases of murder, rioting and bloodshed if they took place within four miles of the King or Parliament. The office lost most of its powers after the 1707 Act of Union, but keeps its ceremonial role.

Among those who will present the regalia of the Queen Consort to the altar will be Baroness Helena Kennedy of The Shaws, the Glasgow-born barrister and Labour peer in the House of Lords.