A former Dundee councillor has told of an “intense year” after he played central roles at both the King’s Coronation and the Queen’s funeral.
Dr Joe Morrow, who formerly represented the Maryfield ward for Labour, has held the title of Lord Lyon King of Arms since 2014.
It means the former Vice Lord Lieutenant of Dundee – who also held a role on the Dundee Waterfront Development Board – oversees state ceremonies in Scotland, and is invited to play a part in major events south of the border.
Speaking to The Courier after his latest role, which included holding a ceremony for the arrival of the Stone of Destiny at Westminster Abbey, he said: “The coronation was a fantastic day and everyone was in very good spirits.
“The ceremony itself started at 9am and ended at 3.30pm, so you can imagine it was quite a marathon.
“It was a remarkable piece of pageantry. For me, these things are about telling the story of not only our history, but our values in where we’re going.”
Joe – who was pictured standing next to the King as he left Westminster Abbey – says he had two roles to play at the coronation ceremony.
His Majesty The King with Clarenceux and Lyon Kings of Arms. pic.twitter.com/5IhhaTYub3
— Lyon Court (@LyonCourt) May 6, 2023
He said: “First of all, I was in the inward procession alongside two other heralds to bring the King into the cathedral.
“I was then part of the outward procession. I had no verbal pieces, it was very much all processional.”
In September, Joe told The Courier how he had fought back tears while standing just feet from the new King during the Queen’s funeral.
He says it has been an eventful year in the role.
He said: “I have a lifelong interest in ceremony and heraldry and in 2014 I was appointed Lord Lyon.
“At that time you don’t think about what’s going to happen. It’s been an intense year starting with the death of the Queen.
“We had to create a new ceremony for the Stone of Destiny to go down to Westminster Abbey.
‘Part of a wonderful era of history’
“We hosted a farewell ceremony at Edinburgh Castle then held a religious ceremony to receive it at the abbey. I had to provide a speech for that.
“Then, of course, we had this weekend’s coronation and later in the year we will hold a presentation of the royal honours of Scotland to the King at St Giles’ Cathedral with our own Scottish crown, sword and sceptre.”
Joe described the weekend as one of the most memorable occasions of his career.
He added: “There’s no other way to describe it, you feel a part of a wonderful era of history.
“The excitement of actually taking part, bearing in mind that I’m nearly 70, it was a highlight of this latter part of my professional life.
“The real sense of representing Scotland and Scottish traditions within the abbey was very important for me because these things can be taken away out of the Scottish context.
“We were able to maintain that in a strong, positive way.”
Conversation