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.