Green MSPs walked out of the Holyrood debating chamber today as the Scottish Parliament paid tribute to The Queen on her Platinum Jubilee.
Nicola Sturgeon hailed the monarch's "dedicated public service" as the country prepares for a four-day weekend to mark the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth II taking the throne.
The First Minister said: "Her Majesty is of course the first British monarch in history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.
"For her, that marks 70 years of dedicated public service - which by any measure is an extraordinary achievement.
"This Jubilee is therefore a hugely important personal milestone for The Queen, but it is also an occasion of historic significance."
But the Greens - despite having two ministers serving in the Scottish Government - did not stick around to hear the tributes.
Glasgow MSP Annie Wells claimed it was a "crass stunt" but added it would "not distract" from the parliament paying tribute to The Queen.
Jamie Greene, a Conservative MSP for West Scotland, said: "Disappointing and quite sad to see Green Party members walk out of the chamber as we congratulate Her Majesty the Queen.
"Given that they sit in the Scottish Government as ministers, it pays a huge disservice to the parliament, government and the Queen."
Green MSP Ross Greer had earlier this week said the spending on the Platinum Jubilee left him feeling "deeply uneasy".
The party's spokesman for external affairs said: "It makes me deeply uneasy that vast sums of public money will be spent on the Jubilee at the same time as millions of families are pushed to breaking point by the cost of living crisis.
"I respect people who hold a different point of view and don’t begrudge them their celebrations, but the Scottish Greens believe passionately that in a healthy democracy the people should choose their head of state, and that individuals should be accountable to those who elected them.”
Asked about the Holyrood walk-out, a party spokesman said: "The Scottish Green Party believes that the people should choose a head of state, and that person should be accountable to the electorate.
"We respect others hold different beliefs and have no wish to deprive them of their celebration.
"Our MSPs decided to absent themselves from today’s short debate and vote on the Royal celebration and instead spend their time serving their constituents."
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
