King Charles honours local heroes in inspiring Parliament speech

King Charles paid tribute to Scotland's community champions as he officially opened the seventh session of the Scottish Parliament on Saturday.

During the ceremonial event at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, the monarch said he was pleased to see local heroes nominated by Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) for their outstanding commitment to serving their communities.

The official Instagram handle of the British royal family posted a short video clip from the King's speech. 

"In his speech at the opening ceremony to mark the Seventh Session of the Scottish Parliament, The King spoke of the local heroes who represent the best of Scotland," the caption of the post read.

It added, "The ‘heroes’, who were nominated by MSPs for their extraordinary commitment to their communities watch His Majesty’s speech from the chamber before meeting The king and Queen at a reception in the Parliament building."

The opening ceremony featured a celebration of Scottish heritage, including musical performances, poetry readings and traditional pageantry. The Crown of Scotland, the Elizabeth Sword and the Parliament's mace were carried into the chamber in a ceremonial procession before King Charles' address.

Furthermore, in his inspiring speech His Majesty also urged leaders to protect Scotland's "precious natural capital."

"It has long been my most fundamental belief that the natural world and human communities are not competing interests, but deeply interwoven ones; that there is an essential harmony between the health of our planet, the natural systems on which we depend and the health of the people that live upon the Earth," the King stated.

Following the ceremony, King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla met with the nominated community champions.