WILLIAM and Kate are starting a two-day royal visit to Scotland amid reports royals are plotting to strengthen support for the Union.
The Earl and Countess of Strathearn are heading to Glasgow as part of a UK-wide tour to mark the Platinum Jubilee this year.
They will visit a project operated by The Wheatley Group to speak with service users who have benefitted from access to employment support.
They will also visit a new-build property in the Kennishead area and hear about the importance of good-quality, secure housing.
They will then visit Glasgow University where they will discuss mental health with staff and students before hearing about pioneering work being done by researchers at the school of Psychology and Neuroscience.
The visit follows a report that the Queen wants to spend more time in Scotland to bolster support for the Union.
The 96-year-old monarch is said to have informed palace insiders she does not want to see Scotland leave the UK under her watch – with another independence referendum scheduled for 2023.
A royal source told the Sun on Sunday: “Protocol prevents her from expressing a political opinion but she wants the people of Scotland to know of her wish that they reject independence.
"The country and Balmoral has been an incredibly important part of her life. She has always been keen to stress that she is the Queen of the entire UK."
A Scottish Green spokesperson told The National: "We welcome the recognition from the palace that a referendum on independence will take place, and advise royal sources to inform Boris Johnson.”
The Scottish Daily Express also reported royal visits across the UK to mark the Jubilee are part of efforts to “spread joy” and “shore up the Union”.
During the Queen's Speech on Tuesday, Prince Charles – who was standing in for his mother – made a plea for the Union on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government.
“The continued success and integrity of the whole of the United Kingdom is of paramount importance to her majesty’s government,” he told the House of Lords, “including the internal economic bonds between all of its parts."
