Kate and William 'will benefit Scotland union' says Brown

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Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge’s “strong connections” with Scotland have been praised by Gordon Brown, who said the “the more Prince William and Catherine visit Scotland, the better it is for Scotland.” The royal couple held a private meeting with the former Prime Minister at Holyroodhouse Palace during their week-long tour of Scotland. 

Mr Brown told BBC Breakfast: “The more that Prince William and Catherine visit Scotland, the better it is for Scotland.

“The more they visit all parts of the UK, which is what they’re doing to great effect, the better it is for the whole of the United Kingdom.

“I think everyone in Scotland would welcome their visits. They’ve got strong connections of course to Scotland, being at St Andrews University and of course, they’ve visited all parts of Scotland when he was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly.”

He added that Prince William had discharged his role “with great duty and in such a way that was very popular in Scotland.” 

Mr Brown has recently launched his Our Scottish Future thinktank which is aimed at ‘Middle Scotland’ voters, who have not decided whether to oppose or support independence.

The former Labour Prime Minister was a vocal campaigner for the No campaign during the Scottish referendum in 2014. 

He was keen to point out to the BBC that there was nothing improper about his meeting with the Prince, saying “Just to be clear, I’ve known Prince William for many, many years from when I was Prime Minister.”

“It’s not unusual for me to meet him and there’s no special occasion that determined that I should meet him.”

Their private meeting was not publicised, but was later detailed in the royal circular – a document that details all official engagements undertaken by the Royal Family.

There have been reports in recent months that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could play a greater role in forging a stronger alliance with Scotland, in order to protect the union. 

The royal couple spent a week in Scotland during May, in order for Prince William to carry out his duties as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. 

He arrived in Edinburgh on Friday, May 21, and spent the weekend carrying out his duties as Lord High Commissioner. He was joined by his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, on Monday for a 5-day tour that saw the couple engage with grassroots charities and organisations. 

The couple visited Turning Point Scotland to learn about violence and addiction, opened Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall and visited the European Energy Centre. 

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During a visit with Fife Young Carers, the couple went head-to-head in a land yachting race, that saw Prince William narrowly beat his competitive wife. 

They also hosted a drive-in special screening of the new Disney film Cruella for NHS staff and frontline workers, as a gesture of appreciation for their hard work during the pandemic. 

In a special visit for the couple, they returned to the University of St Andrews, the place where they had met as students 20 years ago.

In a speech to the General Assembly, Prince William spoke about his connection to the university, and his “great joy” at meeting Catherine. 

The Duke also said he was “shaped” by Scotland and felt honoured to meet the people who “make Scotland the vibrant, friendly, innovative and determined place Catherine and I love and is so important to us.”

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