Queen’s visit to Scotland: Queen marks 60 years of service to Scotland with thanksgiving

About 1,300 people packed into Glasgow Cathedral for the event, which was led by its minister Reverend Dr Laurence Whitley. Among the congregation were leading religious figures including Cardinal Keith O’Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, the Most Reverend Mario Conti, archbishop of Glasgow, and the Right Reverend Albert Bogle, moderator of the General Assembly.

The Queen listened as the Right Reverend Bogle paid tribute to her years of service. He said: “During this past 60 years, Her Majesty has brought the continuity and insight of a wise and gifted monarch, acting as a counsellor and confidante to many a prime minister and world leader.”

Pupils from Glasgow secondary schools read prayers of thanksgiving, while among those who attended were military figures and politicians, including Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore.

After the service, the Queen and duke went to the city’s George Square, where they were greeted by waving and cheering crowds. They met community leaders in a marquee in the square, which was decorated in red, white and blue bunting.

The Queen was in Glasgow as part of her week-long trip to Scotland to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

She and the Duke of Edinburgh later visited St Margaret’s Hospice in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, to meet patients and staff and was greeted by hundreds of flag-waving residents. Hugh McElroy, who runs St Margaret Hospice’s first charity shop, in Anniesland Cross, was among the welcoming party. He said he last saw the Queen as a young army cadet in the early 1960s. “She has changed colossally since then,” he said. “But she remains as elegant and social as ever.”

The Queen was also introduced to hospice consultant Pamela Sheenan, who said meeting her was nerve-racking.

“She said I must have a lovely job,” said Ms Sheenan. “I was more nervous than I thought and the meeting was very brief, so I never really got a chance for the nerves to dissipate.”

Hugh Murphy, former manager of the Anniesland Cross shop, said his attendance at royal visits had come in pairs, 60 years apart. He first saw the Queen when she was still a princess. “Before today’s visit I was at the Queen’s garden party last year,” he said. “But I remember the first time I saw her as a boy during a visit to Clydebank in the 1940s. It was during rationing and I remember thinking that I had never seen a healthier group of people. It’s an indication of the poverty that was around at the time.”

Mr Murphy was also let out of school to see the launch of the Royal Yacht Britannia in Clydebank in 1953, but things did not go according to plan. “We were let out of school to line the streets. I saw it as an opportunity to go home early, so I skipped out. When I was on the way home, she passed me in the car and gave me a wave. She waves at everybody. She is very gracious.”