Death of Her Majesty
Gardens of Remembrance, books of condolence, and the Proclamation
I do have things to tell you about relating to Highland Council and Nairn but given Thursday’s sad news I thought I should bring you up to date today on where we are on things relating to that. As I’m sure many of you know there have long been plans in place for this time and they’re now being put into action.
Gardens of Remembrance
Gardens of Remembrance have been opened by Highland Council right across the Highlands. In Nairn it’s at the war memorial in Cawdor Road but if you’re in the south of the ward you may prefer to go to the one in Grantown-on-Spey; again at the war memorial.
If you are laying flowers then the Council asks that you leave them loose and free of cellophane wrapping to facilitate composting after removal, which will happen after the Queen’s funeral.
Books of Condolence
There are Books of Condolence available for you to record your condolences at locations across the Highlands. In Nairn you can find one at the service point at the Courthouse in the high street, which will be open for this on Monday to Friday, and at Grantown-on-Spey it’s at the service point and library. There’s also one at Ardersier library and Fort George.
You can also leave messages online in the Highland Book of Condolence, and you can find details of that here on the Web along with the locations of other gardens and books.
Proclamation
The next step is the Proclamation of the new monarch. This happened this morning at St James’s Palace and the Proclamation is then going to be read out across the United Kingdom in a series of ceremonies today and tomorrow.
In Inverness the Proclamation of Accession for the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands is being read by Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle at 1pm on Sunday at the Town House.
In Nairn a short service of Proclamation of Ascension for King Charles III will be happening at 1:15pm on Sunday at the garden of remembrance at the war memorial. Arrangements for that are still being confirmed but you are all welcome to attend to see a bit of history take place for the first time in seventy years.
After the Proclamation in London today all flags across the country should have been raised. They will remain raised and then be lowered again after the Proclamations have taken place on Sunday afternoon.
What next?
We are now into ten days of mourning, which ends next Sunday, followed by the funeral on Monday. During this mourning period many official things come to a halt. For example Highland Council has postponed all its public facing meetings including both North and South Planning Application Committees and the Education Committee and we have been told we’re not to attend any public meetings in our role as councillor. Closer to home Nairn River Community Council has postponed their next meeting, which was due to happen on Wednesday.
Our roles as councillors continue however and, as ever, if you have a problem I can help you with you can find my contact details here.