Member of the Scottish Parliament takes oath of allegiance in Welsh

A member of the Scottish Parliament has taken the oath of allegiance in Welsh for the first time.

Rachael Hamilton is a Scottish Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire since 2017.

She was born in Brecon and attended St. David’s Ursuline Convent and Hereford Technical College. In 2008, she became the Director of the family hospitality business based in the Scottish Borders.

Members have been sworn in in a range of languages this morning including BSL, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Doric, Scots, Gaelic, Canadian French, German, Welsh, Orcadian and Zimbabwean Shona.

The oath in Welsh is: “Yr wyf i, yn tyngu y byddaf yn ffyddlon ac yn wir deyrngar i’w Mawrhydi y Frenhines Elizabeth yr Ail, ei hetifeddion a’i holynwyr, yn unol â’r gyfraith. Cynorthwyed Duw fi.”

An earlier version of the Welsh language was spoken in ‘Yr Hen Ogledd,’ present day Edinburgh, where the Scottish Parliament is based. In the epic Welsh poem Y Gododdin there is a reference to Din Eidyn, “the stronghold of Eidyn”.

Edinburgh is called Caeredin in Welsh and this fortress has been generally assumed to refer to the rock where Edinburgh Castle stands today, at the the end of the Royal Mile where Rachel Hamilton took her oath.

Rachael Hamilton was sworn in at one hour and three minutes into the ceremony which can be watched below.