SCOTTISH Green co-leader Lorna Slater told an anti-monarchy rally on Saturday that Scottish independence is the “best route to a republican future.”

As Charles Windsor was crowned at Westminster Abbey, hundreds gathered in the foggy shadow of the National Monument on Edinburgh’s historic Calton Hill for the Rally for a Republic, coinciding with the city’s May Day celebrations.

The rally — organised by Scottish republican group Our Republic — was addressed by the SNP MP Tommy Shepard, Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman and Edinburgh independent councillor Ross McKenzie, as well as speakers from across communities and the arts.

Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater told the crowd: “The pomp and regalia on display today in London consists not just of literal stolen artefacts, but represents the stolen lives, cultures and communities that the British royal family took from countries around the globe on its imperial quest.

“Regardless of its source, vast wealth is never harmless — it creates a distortion in the power system.

“You can’t have vast wealth and effective democracy living side by side, because vast wealth gives you the power to distort that democracy — especially when you are the head of state.

“I want a head of state who can reach out beyond party political divides and express something real and passionate about who we are as a society.

“Someone who can unite us in the collective fight against the climate emergency.

“Someone who is a figurehead for peace, rather than sponsoring troops going into war.

“Someone who can speak up for the powerless as well as tackling the abuses of power that come from the top.

“That’s the exciting opportunity we will face, when Scotland becomes an independent republic.”