The Prince and Princess of Wales weren’t the only ones enjoying
a day out watching sport as August got under way.
While William and Kate were at the Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow, King Charles followed a specil tradition as he headed out
to catch some sport.
The King was at the Mey Highland Games in Caithness, in northern
Scotland.
King Charles is the Chieftan of the Games and his attendance
follows a tradition started by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
The King was very close to his grandmother and his participation in
the Games comes from her.
The Mey Highland Games were set up in 1970 to mark the 70th
birthday of The Queen Mother. It was such a success, it became an
annual event. When The Queen Mother died in 2002, her grandson, now
King Charles, became Chieftan of the Games.
the nearby Castle of Mey in early August
(Antares, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In this role as Chieftan, The King watched many of the
traditional sports being played including the tog of war and the
Highland favourite, tossing the caber.
Dressed in a kilt, The King also enjoyed a performance of
traditional highland dancing before tucking in, quite happily, to a
dram of whiskey.
The Chieftan of the Games also spent times meeting some of those
who have organised and run the event as well as a group of
veterans, the Wounded Highlanders, who were taking part in the
adaptive events at the competiion.
The Mey Highland Games are held on the first Saturday of August
every year and form part of The King’s stay in Scotland. He is
expected to head to Balmoral shortly for a summer break there with
Queen Camilla.
Already in their diary is a meeting with new Prime Minister, And
Burnham, and his wife, Mare-France van Hell. The King traditionally
hosts the PM and their partner at Balmoral for a weekend in the
summer.
Members of the Royal Family are also expected to join King
Charles and Queen Camilla at Balmoral in the coming weeks. The
Princess Royal is a big fan of the Scottish estate where she spent
many happy summers growing up. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh
are also thought to be heading to the Aberdeenshire estate at some
point.
Wales joined the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh at the Commonwealth
Games
(Wattie Cheung/ Kensington Palace)
It’s likely that the Prince and Princess of Wales will enjoy a
break there, too, with their three children.
William and Kate headed to Scotland as August got under way to
enjoy the penultimate day of the Commonwealth Games which are being
held in Glasgow.
Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight year old
Prince Louise also joined their parents to watch netball and
cycling at the Games.
It’s the first official public engagement in Scotland for the
young royals who enjoyed a full day out and showed particular
support for the Welsh team with Prince Louis even wearing one of
their team hats.
King Charles is expected to spend most of August at Balmoral and
members of the Royal Family are likely to be there on September 8,
the anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II who passed away
at the castle in 2022.
