Moderator to join Queen's Diamond Jubilee service

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is to join a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The service takes place on Tuesday to mark the final day of the Queen's official Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Rt Rev Albert Bogle will join the Queen and 2,000 invited guests in London to mark the 60th anniversary of her reign.

It is one of Rev Bogle's first high profile engagements since being sworn in as Moderator of the General Assembly last May.

Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI, but the coronation did not take place until more than a year later on 2 June 1953.

By attending this historic event, Rev Bogle is following in the footsteps of former Moderator, Very Rev James Pitt-Watson, who presented the Queen with a Bible during her coronation ceremony and said: “To keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God... we present you with this Book".

The Moderator said: “It is a great honour and a privilege, both for the Church of Scotland and for myself, to be invited to attend the thanksgiving service in St Paul’s. I am sure it will be a great occasion, and an appropriate way to recognise the exemplary way in which the Queen has conducted herself over all these years.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury will preach at the St Paul’s service, which will be conducted by the Dean of St Paul's. A ‘Diamond Choir’ of children from around the UK will also sing a specially-composed song.