NICOLA Sturgeon has suggested that monarchy should be abolished as it would “free Prince George” from the burden of becoming King.
The former Scottish first minister – speaking on a new Channel 4 documentary, The Royals: Time To Go – said she had “huge sympathy” for members of the royal family.
But she added: “I would say one of the arguments for getting rid of the monarchy is for the sake of members of the royal family, like Prince George, for example.
“That kid doesn’t know any different. He has a certain life ahead of him that he has no choice over. Is that really fair?”
Sturgeon continued: “And so, I actually think it is one of the arguments for getting rid of the monarchy, to free the future members of the royal family from carrying that burden.”
In an exclusive poll last year, The National found that the majority of Scots believe that Scotland should remove the monarchy and become a republic.
The Find Out Now survey found that 53% of Scots backed removing the monarch as Scotland’s head of state and becoming a republic instead.
In total, 36% of people said the monarchy should be removed as soon as possible, with 12% saying in the next 10 years, and 5% in more than 10 years.
On the other side, 47% of respondents said the monarch should never be removed from Scotland.
When all three responses that back Scotland becoming a republic on whatever timescale are summed, 53% of Scots back removing the monarchy.
A sub-sample of the poll found that 33% of the age group 30-39 said the monarch should be removed as soon as possible, while 63% of the age group 75+ said never.
Since then, former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
He spent around 11 hours in custody as searches were conducted at his home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and at his former home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, Berkshire.
Other polls since have shown support for the monarchy in Scotland has dropped below 50%.
