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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Lucy Garcia

King Charles heads to Scotland for photo-op with food bank staff amid Harry row

THE King will carry out a public engagement two days after the release of the Duke of Sussex’s book.

Charles will travel to Aberdeenshire on Thursday to meet local hardship support groups and take part in a photo-op at the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed.

It will be his first public engagement since the release of Harry’s controversial Memoir Spare which went on sale on Tuesday.

Buckingham Palace said Charles will meet representatives from charities and voluntary groups on his visit on Thursday including Aberdeenshire North Foodbank, Gordon Rural Action and Young at Heart Deeside.

The palace said Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed opened in 2021 and is an inclusive local community space where groups hold their regular workshop, arts, crafts and other practical and wellbeing sessions.

The Shed aims to improve the health and welfare of Mid Deeside residents by reducing rural social isolation.

It comes ahead of Charles's lavish coronation in May, which is set to be protested by pro-republic groups.

Chris McEleny, the general secretary of Alex Salmond's Alba Party, said the visit shows how "out of touch" the King is. 

"The Crown he represents is the very symbol of the inequality across the UK that forces people to rely on food banks," he said.

“Royalty is the very embodiment of the yoke of inequality which our nation must break free from. 

“If the people of the rest of the UK wish to have King Charles as their head of state then good luck to them, but there should be zero countenance of that absurdity in an independent Scotland.”

Harry’s book has sparked headlines for days due to his revelation that he killed 25 people during the Afghanistan war, claims that he was physically attacked by his brother the Prince of Wales, and admissions of drug-taking.

Regarding his father, Harry said his “Pa” was “never made” for single parenthood but had tried, and told Tom Bradby in an interview broadcast on ITV on Sunday night, that he will “always love” his father.

Narrating his autobiography, the duke said: “Over dinner one night at Highgrove, Pa and I spoke at some length about what I’d been suffering.

“I gave him the particulars, told him story after story. Towards the end of the meal he looked down at his plate and said softly ‘I suppose it’s my fault. I should have got you the help you needed years ago’.

“I assured him that it wasn’t his fault, but I appreciated the apology.”

He also questioned whether Charles had the “patience” and “time” for parenthood.

“He’d always given an air of not being quite ready for parenthood: the responsibilities, the patience, the time. Even he, though a proud man, would have admitted as much. But single parenthood? Pa was never made for that. To be fair, he tried,” he wrote.

Speaking of his affection for Charles, Harry told Bradby: “Of course, he’s my father. I will always love him.”

Harry describes the King as liking “his routines”, adding: “He wasn’t the kind of father who played endless rounds of tag, or tossed a ball long after dark.”

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