Time for me to go, too.

[Ghost Dog]

156. Neither voluntarily joined the Union

of the two Crowns of Scotland and England, as far as I'm aware.

Of course I'm being pedantic (and playing devil's advocate, tongue-in-cheek mostly), but the term 'United Kingdom' should read 'United Kingdoms', since both Crowns continued to exist as seperate Kingdoms but were agreed to be assigned to a single Monarch.

The Parliamentary history (at a time when Parliaments represented only the then 1% (powerful elites) of each country) is indeed different, with a single UK Parliament being established in the Act of Union of 1707, and it is this situation that may shortly change. As I understand it, though, at least in the immediate aftermath, Scotland would continue to be a Constitutional Monarchy with the current placeholder in place, rather like Canada, Australia...

Do you think an independent Scotland would choose (under present 'democratic' conditions) to continue with that status, or to annoint a Monarch from some other 'Royal House'(sic <g&gt , or to become a Republic or... (there are other alternatives)... ?

Anyway, sorry, you wanted to leave, not get into debate here in DU. Sorry to see you go.

Where can one debate these issues, where can one find something similar to DU in a UK or particularly Scottish context, can you tell me?

(My mother's family are lowland Scottish; my father's from Yorkshire; my brother's family is half (Norman) Irish and my niece was born in Edinburgh (her two children were born in Paris); I myself am self-exiled these many years past to first Ireland, then Central London (a universe apart), then France, now Spain).

Just PM, please, if you like, before you go. Ciao.