Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Highland Council slammed for sending out royal ‘mourning kits’

Jan Hargreaves with the Royal Family Mourning Kit
Jan Hargreaves with the Royal Family Mourning Kit

The Highland Council has been slammed for sending out “mourning kits” in anticipation of the death of members of the Royal Family.

The move was branded “bizarre” by one business owner in Foyers who got the package – particularly as it included materials for Prince Charles who is not yet 70.

The kits include a black tablecloth, a vase, a book of condolence and even a guide to mourning.

According to a guide to sent out by the Council certain establishments were “chosen” as a designated place of mourning.

This included the small post office and shop in Foyers on Loch Ness to the south west of Inverness.

The directions state that the book of condolence should be made available on the “first working day” after the announcement of the death.

The book should be placed in an “easily accessible place, but discreet enough to enable those signing the books a moment of privacy and quiet reflection whilst doing so.

“Pages including questionable comments should be discretely removed until such time that a decision can be taken at a senior level on whether the page should be permanently excluded.”


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


The mourning kits apply to “the Sovereign, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Rothesay or the Duchess of Cornwall.”

Jan Hargreaves who runs the Foyer’s post office and shop said that she was left quite “puzzled” by the arrival of the package.

She said: “I was just surprised. My husband had spoken to someone who called from the Highland Council and then it had slipped his mind.

“We were nonplussed by it – just puzzled by it really after all there is being ready and there is this. Plus it is a tiny shop and there is no space.

And it costs money, it is a very decent bit of tablecloth and the vase for the flowers is also quite nice – it all costs.”

She added: It is all just a bit bizarre really, we don’t want to be disrespectful but it caused us to smile. We have it clearly marked in the storeroom.”

Penny Junor, a Royal biographer and journalist, said the council should “apologise” because it is “in very bad taste – Charles is not yet even 70 years old.”

She said: “The council should apologise to the Queen and move whoever made the decision to another line of work.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman said the move may have been prompted by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).

She said: “I understand that COSLA has issued guidance to all local authorities on the death of a senior national figure.”