Nicola Sturgeon meets Queen in Edinburgh

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has met the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

The Queen held an audience with Ms Sturgeon and Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone.

But the 96-year-old monarch was not at a garden party in the grounds of the palace on Wednesday afternoon.

The first minister's meeting with the Queen came 24 hours after she unveiled plans for a second Scottish independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon presented the Queen with a number of gifts, including a limited edition bottle of whisky.

The meetings were held in private, with no details of the conversations revealed.

Ms Sturgeon has said that the Queen would remain head of state if Scotland becomes independent.

The Queen arrived in Edinburgh on Monday for the start of the Royal Family's annual week in Scotland.

Although she has been scaling back her engagements recently due to mobility issues, she has made a number of public appearances this week.

They include the traditional arrival ceremony - the Ceremony of the Keys - on Monday, and an armed services parade on Tuesday.

The garden party at Holyroodhouse is one of the annual highlights of Royal Week but it was confirmed earlier this year that the Queen would not attend.

Instead, Prince Charles, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral SIr Timothy Laurence, and Prince Edward and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex mingled with crowds.

Among the guests was David Flucker, a 100-year-old who is still working three days a week in an Edinburgh charity shop.