Beth, having read through your post and believe we have a different understanding of the Commonwealth.

Scotland is voting on whether it would like to become an independent country. It is not voting on having a separate coronation. If it votes in favour, I believe in the first instance it will retain The Queen as Head of State, although, of course, it may chose to have a separate Head of State. Then it could even elect to opt out of the Commonwealth.

I feel you are deeply misguided to talk of the Coronation as a political statement, when I have already said that it is singularly a Christian Sacrament. From that stems my view that an attempt by Scotland to stage a separate coronation (although I would strongly encourage a Thanksgiving) is driven by Nationalism, which has no place in a Crown that sits above the political bedlam.

We have already said here (on several occasions) that the next Head of the Commonwealth does not have to be the successor to The Queen on the Throne of the United Kingdom.

You refer to other monarchs. I presume you mean those of the former British Protectorates. Protectorates were not colonies and had their own special arrangements. They have chosen whether to be member states of the Commonwealth. There were no problems with the 20th century coronations and I fail to see why there should be with the 21st. Yes, we have discussed other faiths and, yes, we have said that their representation and participation can be assured in other ways than through an intrinsically Christian coronation.

Again, you fall into the trap of Scottish Nationalism when you talk about the Act of Union. The indivisible Crown is a reference to the Commonwealth, both countries that recognise The Queen as Head of State and those that don't. Please always remember that the Crown sits above politics, Acts of various parliaments, etc. Remember that when the Dominions first came into being, the unifying relationship was under the Crown.

Finally, I have also already explained on more than one occasion why a separate and totally superfluous coronation in any Commonwealth country could be regarded as blasphemous. It is Christian, it is Sacramental and it is universal to the mission of the individual.

I really do think a lot of circular discussion has emerged from my last comments. I also think it would be a good moment to discuss the various ecumenical, inter-faith and secular Thanksgivings that could occur in Scotland and the rest of the Commonwealth at the time of the next Coronation.