Queen Elizabeth advises Scottish MSPs to stay calm and think things through carefully
Queen Elizabeth told the members of the Scottish Parliament today that keeping a cool head is the key to good leadership.
Her advice comes after the financial markets were rocked by the outcome of Britain's referendum, both the Conservative party and the opposing Labour party are grappling over leadership questions, and Scotland's leader Nicola Sturgeon has been mulling over a second independence referendum.
In her address at the opening of the fifth session of Scotland's parliament, the Queen chose not to touch on the issue of Britain's exit from the EU, and instead decided to remain impartial.
"We all live and work in an increasingly complex and demanding world where events can and do take place at remarkable speed, and retaining the ability to stay calm and collected can be hard," she said.
"As this parliament has successfully demonstrated over the years, one hallmark of leadership in such a fast-moving world is allowing sufficient room for quiet contemplation and reflection which can enable deeper, cooler, consideration about how challenges and opportunities can be best addressed."
Sturgeon has promised to do everything in her power to maintain Scotland's links with the EU, and has been in talks with officials from the European Parliament to try to keep Scotland in the single market.