Patrick Harvie, the Wee Green Man of Scottish politics, has dung washing over his wellies this weekend.

The Scottish Greens have been branded “petty” as they look to ‘start a discussion’ on ending the monarchy just weeks before the King’s Coronation. The party will hold a ‘sold out’ event on Sunday in Edinburgh on the subject of becoming a republic.

And co-leader Harvie has called for a national conversation about “the need for a democratic, accountable head of state”.

The Dumbarton Academy former pupil. pictured right,  was speaking as the nation remembered the late Queen Elizabeth II who would have celebrated her 97th birthday on Friday.

He claimed polls showed “indifference” toward the Royal Family and claimed there was “nothing normal or inevitable about monarchy”. But his comments have been blasted by the Scottish Conservatives who said Mr Harvie should be “ashamed”.

Sharon Dowey MSP, Scottish Conservative shadow culture minister, told the Scottish Daily Express: “These calls for a ‘national debate’ on the monarchy is typical of the student political posturing we’ve sadly come to expect from the Scottish Greens.

“It is disappointing – but unsurprising – that the Greens seem determined to promote constitutional division on a day when so many Scots will be enjoying a national celebration.

“These ministers should be ashamed of their petty, pointless attempt to undermine the coronation.”

King Charles III will be crowned on May 6 at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Three days of celebrations are planned and Scots can look forward to an extra bank holiday on Monday, May 8.

The most recent polling suggests a majority of Scots support the monarchy. The Greens are the only party at Holyrood that backs a republic although the SNP is known to have strong republican leanings and new leader Humza Yousaf wants to see the royals binned.

In a press statement released on the day the Queen’s birthday was marked in the UK, Mr Harvie said: “We are in the worst cost-of-living crisis for decades, yet, in the weeks ahead, the UK Government will be spending tens of millions of pounds on an extravagant three-day long festival of pomp and pageantry.

“Is this really the form of governance that we want in the 21st century? So many of the polls are showing an indifference to the whole thing, and it’s easy to see why.

“There is nothing normal or inevitable about monarchy. All around us there are small independent countries who have elected heads of state that operate on a far more modest, democratic and tasteful basis.

“With only weeks to go before the golden carriages take to the streets, it is more important than ever that we talk about our future. It’s time for a national conversation about replacing the monarchy.”

Despite Mr Harvie’s claims, several countries in Europe retain constitutional monarchies, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands, which were all used as ‘comparator’ countries in a Scottish Government document on Scexit.