THERE are few things that bring out the darker side of the Scottish Green party – and with it the hypocrisy of the SNP – like the topic of the British Monarchy.

As with His Majesty's Coronation earlier this year, King Charles' recent visit to Scotland was an opportunity to celebrate everything that makes the monarchy so important to our country.

This importance goes far beyond the obvious benefits to our economy including the huge amount of tourism brought to the UK by the Royal Family.

More than this, our monarchy is key to both our culture and identity as a nation.

While I have always been clear about the importance I personally attach to the monarchy; you would hardly need an opinion poll to know that this view is shared amongst a clear majority of people in Scotland.

In every part of our United Kingdom, the monarchy is still relevant – and it is still wanted.

Of course, this only made it more disappointing when the Scottish Greens used His Majesty's recent visit to wheel-out their usual brand of anti-monarchy grandstanding.

While King Charles was attending St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scottish Green leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater were attending an anti-monarchy rally outside the Scottish Parliament.

Given that the environment is supposed to be the Greens' main priority, you would have thought they would be more concerned with fixing their disastrous Deposit Return Scheme than recycling their predictable rants about Britain's constitution.

For the Scottish Greens, an opportunity for some low level, student-union style political activism is just too tempting to resist.

However, the SNP cannot watch on blamelessly while the Scottish Greens practice their well-known brand of childish politics.

In 2021, the SNP welcomed the Scottish Greens into their government, and even handed out ministerial jobs to Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater.

So last week, while First Minister Humza Yousaf delivered an address to the King, his very own partners in government were protesting the Monarchy's very existence just a mile away.

No doubt the SNP would respond to this by claiming that their deal with the Greens is not a true coalition government.

This flimsy excuse is just as unconvincing now as it was when we first heard it 2 years ago.

The SNP's position on the monarchy is now every bit as confusing as it is contradictory.

Their leader claims to be a republican at heart but will happily give speeches at royal events.

Their so-called independence minister claims an independent Scotland would keep the monarchy, while their Green partners in government are desperate to get rid of it.

While the SNP claim to have chosen their side on this issue, their actions inevitably speak louder than their words.

For as long as they keep their Green coalition partners in government, any claims that they are a genuinely pro-monarchy party will hold no water with the majority of Scots, who see His Majesty's commitment to Scotland as something that deserves to be celebrated.