Former First Minister recalls frustration over royal role in Scotland’s political debate
Nicola Sturgeon has revealed in her memoir Frankly that her respect for the royal family was tested during a difficult episode involving Prince William.
The former First Minister recalled feeling “aggrieved” after a cordial meeting with the prince in the summer of 2021. Their conversation had been polite and deliberately free of politics. But soon after, Sturgeon discovered that William had privately met with Gordon Brown at Holyrood Palace.
At the time, Brown had recently launched Our Scottish Future, a think tank widely seen as an anti-independence effort. For many observers, the timing suggested the two men may have discussed ways to reinforce the Union. Sturgeon wrote that the secrecy around the meeting “inevitably raised questions,” especially given the intense constitutional debates dominating Scottish politics.
When William’s office later issued a statement defending the encounter, Sturgeon was unconvinced. She described the explanation as “to put it mildly, disingenuous,” suggesting the prince’s team had not been fully transparent.
The account comes as scrutiny grows over the monarchy’s involvement in political affairs. Royal biographer Valentine Low has also claimed in Power and the Palace that William was among those who encouraged the late Queen to step into the 2014 independence referendum, leading to her famous appeal for Scots to “think very carefully about the future.”
