King Charles Edinburgh today: Monarch presented with keys to Scottish capital at Palace of Holyroodhouse

It started with the handing over of the keys to the city of Edinburgh and ended in a lavish garden party, with the monarch sporting a black top hat.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were top billing on Tuesday in the Scottish capital for Royal Week.

The ceremonial events opened with Charles presented with the keys to Edinburgh to mark the start of his official stay in Scotland.

The traditional Ceremony of the Keys in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the King’s official residence in Edinburgh, took place yesterday morning, shortly after the King and Queen had arrived at the palace by helicopter.

King Charles III speaks to a member of Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard Scotland, at the Ceremony of the Keys in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA

The King was presented with the keys by Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldridge, who held them out on a red cushion, which Charles symbolically touched.

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Mr Aldridge said to the King: “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.”

The Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldridge (right) presents the keys to the City of Edinburgh to King Charles III during the Ceremony of the Keys in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA

Before the ceremony, the palace’s garden was transformed into a parade ground and the King met senior military figures.

He then received a royal salute and inspected a Guard of Honour of soldiers from the Royal Company of Archers, who serve as the King’s ceremonial bodyguard in Scotland – a role first created in 1822 for King George VI.

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Also lined up was the Palace Guard made up of soldiers from Balaklava Company, 5 Scots, and the High Constables of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Pipes and Drums of 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland provided music for the occasion.

The 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery also fired a 21-gun salute at Edinburgh Castle to mark the King’s arrival at the palace.

The King walked past the Guard of Honour, casting his eye over the service personnel and stopping to talk to some of them.

King Charles III inspects the Guard of Honour from the Royal Company of Archers, the King's Bodyguard Scotland at the Ceremony of the Keys in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA

Later, the Queen lamented library closures across the country as she celebrated a thriving example in Edinburgh.

Camilla told a group of librarians, figures from the city’s annual literary festival and leading writers that she “wished” more people would open such facilities as she officially launched Ratho Library in Newbridge.

Her words were echoed by celebrated Scottish crime writer Sir Ian Rankin, who praised the resources his local centre provided when he was growing up, saying: “Without libraries I wouldn’t be here.”

The Queen, who has a passion for reading and officially supports a number of literary organisations, also chatted to Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, and told her: “I’m very partial to crime novels.”

Queen Camilla during the Sovereign's Garden Party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA

In an impromptu speech, she said her visit “has just reinforced my belief in what wonderful places libraries are, literally from toddlers to pensioners – they manage to inspire a love of reading of books”.

She added: “To actually see a new library like this … I wish a lot of other people would follow your example and open more libraries all over the country, because I think, sadly, a lot of them have been closing down.

“So to see something as wonderful as this being reopened is all to the credit to all of you who’ve made it happen.”

The BBC reported in September that more than 180 council-run libraries had either closed or been handed over to volunteer groups in the UK since 2016 after the corporation submitted Freedom of Information requests.

In contrast, City of Edinburgh Council has made a commitment to its 28 public libraries to continue developing the resources as thriving community spaces.

Sir Ian, famed for his series of Inspector Rebus books, is also Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh.

He said following the royal visit: “Libraries are an easy cut and I can understand why councils do it – it’s an invisible cut, almost.

“But it’s such a crucial thing – libraries are crucial for every generation, from the very beginning to the very end.”

Sir Ian said that to “be a reader is to be a citizen of the world as fully as you can be”.

Camilla’s visit also marked the launch of a five-year initiative by the Edinburgh International Book Festival in partnership with Edinburgh City Libraries.

Called Paper Trails, the project supported by Sir Ian will operate in five local libraries, including Ratho Library, to promote literature in local communities, including using the mobile library service to bring authors and artists into care homes.

The community of Ratho was served by a mobile library while the permanent facility was rebuilt, opening in the spring, and Camilla toured a similar mobile unit and joked with Sir Ian when she spotted some of his novels on the shelves.

She quipped “I’m sure they go down very well with the readers,” before donating a collection of books.

During her visit, the Queen also sat down with a group of children from a nursery which shares its premises with the library and also met a group of budding authors and poets from the Citizen Collective Young People’s Writers Programme.

She told them: “I can see I’ve met you at very early stages in your career – good luck.”