Charles Moore was correct in describing the Queen as a member of the Church of Scotland and Christopher Howse quite wrong to say that Queen Victoria had no right to take Communion in Crathie Church (Notebook, 9 February).

As the royal website makes clear, when attending Church of Scotland services in Scotland the monarch “does so as an ordinary member”. This is consistent with the commitment made by every sovereign since the 1707 Act of Union as part of his or her accession oath to uphold the “Presbyterian Government, Worship, Discipline, Rights and Privileges of the Church of Scotland” and with the close ties that bind the monarchy and the Church of Scotland, expressed through the presence of a Lord High Commissioner representing the sovereign at its General Assembly.

Under the twin influences of her mother’s evangelicalism and her husband’s Lutheranism, Queen Victoria had a preference for simple Low Church worship and found the style of services offered in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland much more to her taste than many Anglican acts of worship, particularly those of a more High Church nature. Whatever their persuasion, clergy preaching before her were required to wear a simple black gown, and private services in her presence were conducted without the aid of vestments, candles or processions.