Nicola Benedetti to play for King Charles in Edinburgh today

The monarch is in Edinburgh to receive the crown and sceptre which form part of the Scottish Crown Jewels.

During a service of thanksgiving in Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral, world renowned musician Nicola and The Honours of Scotland Ensemble will perform Peter Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness.

The former BBC Young Musician of the Year grew up in West Kilbride and was a pupil at Ayr's Wellington School before studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School for young musicians.

The service of thanksgiving is set to begin at 2.15pm following a Royal Procession and a People's Procession along the Royal Mile.

Dame Katherine Grainger DBE, the five-time Olympic rowing medallist and current chair of UK Sport, will bear the new Elizabeth Sword in today's service to present the Honours of Scotland to King Charles.

Protesters are also gathering for an anti-monarchy rally outside the Scottish Parliament which some elected politicians - including Scottish government ministers - will attend,

It's proving to be a big year for Nicola, 35, who will be the director of this year's Edinbirgh International Festival, which begins next month.

Remarkably, the Grammy award-winning musician is the first Scot to hold the post.

She has promised to bring the highest quality performances, to the broadest possible audience.

Among the thousands of artists taking part in this year's festival are Alison Goldfrapp, Anoushka Shankar, John Cale, Matthew Herbert and Sir Andras Schiff.

The Edinburgh International Festival runs from August 4-27.

Nicola started playing violin at the age of four and by the time she was eight, was leader of the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain.

By the age of nine, she had already passed the eight grades of musical examinations while attending Wellington School, and aged 10, she began to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School for Young Musicians.

She shot to international fame after winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year title in 2004.