MONARCHY has “no place in modern Scotland,” Green co-leader Patrick Harvie told Edinburgh’s Republic Day rally on Saturday.

Speaking at the event organised by Our Republic, he argued the institution was increasingly unjustifiable amid growing inequality and swingeing cuts to the social wage.

Mr Harvie said: “There is no place in modern Scotland for the monarchy.

“Our society is experiencing widespread inequality, with the cost-of-living crisis continuing to push many to the brink. However, it seems the royal family has never had it so good.

“The taxpayer-funded sovereign grant rises year on year. 

“They don’t pay capital gains tax, they don't pay corporation tax and they’re exempt from stamp duty. They have received millions of pounds of income in rent from the NHS, schools and the armed forces for operating on the vast swathes of land that they own."

He said this is “completely at odds” with the struggles faced by some of our most vulnerable communities.

“We should not have a system that only benefits the super-rich, while leaving the rest of us to pick up the bill,” Mr Harvie said.

“The monarchy is a profoundly outdated and undemocratic institution.”