Trustees at the Castle of Mey, the Scotland home of the late queen mother, have spawned a royal uproar with a recent decision to allow only Christian weddings at the Highlands venue. The trustees say that the queen mother, who died in 2002 at age 101, would have wanted all ceremonies at the castle performed by a priest or a vicar.
Though reportedly not the reason for the decision, the new policy precludes same-sex nuptials, which are civil ceremonies. Trust administrator James Murray says that the castle would need to apply for a license if trustees decided to allow civil ceremonies. Priests and vicars have their own permits.
"I think the trust is perfectly entitled to say that if you want to get married here that is wonderful, but we would like it to be a religious ceremony," Murray told the Daily Telegraph . "I don't think it is discrimination, no."
Gay rights groups expressed puzzlement with the decision, especially given the queen mother's acknowledged comfort with gay people during her lifetime.
"This seems even more ridiculous given that the queen mother surrounded herself with gay people," said David Allison, a spokesman for the group Outrage. "Doing this at the queen mother's old residence is particularly odd. She had no problem with gay people, quite the opposite."
