They just don’t get it, do they? Last week, like a bunch of recalcitrant third formers bunking off speech day, a coterie of our elective representatives decided to boycott the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Scottish parliament. In what was widely seen as a snub to the Queen, about 40% of MSPs decided they had something better to do.

MSPs of the seniority of Cathy Jamieson and Wendy Alexander failed to show. Excuses ranged from the feeble — visiting the dentist — to the pathetic — holidaying in Argyll. Had the Queen announced that the Scottish parliamentarians were to receive a medal, they would have been queuing up. As it was, the Elizabeth Medal, unveiled that day, was reserved for people who deserved it — families of those who have given their life for their country.

Holyrood officials had to be drafted into the chamber to fill the empty seats. The effort made by some MSPs, in the form of kilts and tartan trews, was rendered poignant because it was so sparse. There was something incredibly touching about Angela Constance’s decision to wear a black lace bunnet, especially when Scottish ministers such as Roseanna Cunningham predictably stayed away. Hats off, then, to the SNP member for Livingston.

Apart from anything else, the Queen is an 83-year-old lady. The effort it takes at that age, in this heat, to dress up in a coat and hat, prepare a speech, meet and greet, and take a genuine interest in proceedings should not be underestimated. The SNP skivers should also bear in mind that when Gordon Brown refused to have anything to do with the new first minister, it was the Queen who boarded a helicopter and flew up to congratulate Alex Salmond, thus giving a leadership — won on the narrowest of margins — a powerful endorsement.

The boycott represents our MSPs at their most parochial. At a time when they are seeking more powers for Holyrood, they insist on portraying the Scottish parliament as an institution operating in an isolationist backwater. However much some nationalist politicians may dislike the fact, the Scottish parliament is part of a system that encompasses constitutional monarchy, the Westminster parliament, devolution, local government and which has, increasingly, a European dimension.

For MSPs to decree, on a whim and unilaterally, that the head of state making a rare visit to the Scottish parliament is irrelevant sets a dangerous precedent. It is a pick’n’mix approach to government that demonstrates a unbelievable level of ignorance of the way our country is governed. Those who argue that there should have been a three-line whip for the Queen’s visit miss the point. Elected representatives should not have to be ordered to attend such an important event.

Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy have co-existed in Britain for 320 years. This inability to separate personalities from institutions is central to our muddled thinking about monarchy. Getting the correct work/family balance is important for all of us but it is crucial for the Queen. If she gets it wrong, the institution of the head of state is besmirched. The Queen has been particularly skilled at this. For almost 60 years she has not let her personality, likes or dislikes overshadow the constitutional role to which she was born.

Would that our MSPs were as skilled in keeping their personalities subservient to their office. Christine Grahame, the nationalist MSP, told Radio Scotland that for her to have turned up would have been hypocritical. That is to completely misunderstand the job she has been elected to do. Her republican sympathies are neither here nor there. This is not about her and what she thinks.

The invitation to MSPs to hear the Queen address the Scottish parliament comes in their capacity as elected representatives of what is only one part of the British political system. It is only as part of that system that Grahame’s party governs in Scotland. The head of state is another, complimentary, part of that system. The Queen has shown great respect for and courtesy towards the Scottish parliament. Those MSPs who did not have the grace to listen to her should learn from that.

The monarchy has been a successful institution precisely because it has been able to adapt as circumstances have changed. Our MSPs should ponder whether the same is likely to be said for the Scottish parliament 300 years down the line. The monarchy is a work in progress and progress, in the form of modernisation, is being made. Whatever the flaws of the individuals who shelter under its umbrella, it allows a changing society to retain its connections with the past and maintain historical continuities. Its defects should not detract from the stability and the advantages on the world stage Britain enjoys because of it.

Ten years ago, the Queen charged the Scottish parliament with setting “lasting standards: of vision and purpose, of debate and discussion, not just for our own generation but for future generations”. Apart from anything else, there is always the possibility that the MSPs might learn something from a woman who has advised 11 prime ministers. Nobody knows better than her that the difference between lese-majesty and less majesty is not just a misplaced consonant.

gillian.bowditch@sunday-times.uk

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