The Thistle Chapel, St Giles’ High Kirk of Edinburgh, High St, Edinburgh EH1 1RE
There are some striking examples of India links in this sacred meeting place of Scotland’s chivalric order. Counting counter-clockwise from the entrance, stall 13, find arms (bottom middle) for the 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, longest serving Viceroy 1936-43, during the World War Two suppression of Independence movements and the death of millions in the Bengal Famine. Stall 17 bears the arms (top middle) of the 14th Duke of Hamilton, in 1933 the first to fly over Mount Everest. At stall 7 we find (bottom right), with Ashoka’s lions hinting at Indian heritage, Dundee obstetrician Narendra, Baron Patel, in 2009, first Asian in the Order’s 322 years.
Baron Patel’s Flag with Ashoka’s Lion Column.
Marquess of Linlithgow’s Coat of Arms.
Duke of Hamilton’s flight over Everest, 1933.
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