King Charles has made his annual royal visit to one of Scotland’s biggest Highlands Games.
The Braemar Gathering in the Cairngorms National Park kicked off on Saturday.
The event was attended by thousands including Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry as well as King Charles and Queen Camilla.
STV NewsCharles, wearing a tartan jacket and a navy, red and green kilt, was accompanied by the Queen, who wore a navy dress with a feather pattern and a hat with two feathers.
The couple were seen smiling as they chatted at the event, held a short distance from their summer residence at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire.
The event, held on the first Saturday in September, has been running in its present form since 1832 and has been attended regularly by the reigning monarch and other members of the royal family since 1848.
This year’s Games was the second time the King has appeared as monarch at the event, having frequently attended while he was the Duke of Rothesay.
The 2024 Gathering falls one day before Charles’s second accession anniversary, having become head of state immediately upon the death of his mother, the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, who died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on September 8 2022 at the age of 96.
President of the Royal Highland Braemar Society, Peter Middleton Fraser, said the event was “very lucky” to have the royal patronage there.
“It definitely takes the crowd in, there’s no doubt about that, but this goes away to Queen Victoria’s time, when she first came to Deeside away back in 1847,” he said.
“She fell in love with the place, and on a day like this, can you blame her?
“Ever since, we’ve been very lucky other royal monarchs have followed on the tradition.”
Before their arrival, competitors took part in traditional Highland Games, including tug-of-war, and enjoyed music played by bagpipers and drummers.
STV NewsThe King has endured a difficult second year as sovereign, being diagnosed with cancer and dealing with ongoing treatment, while his daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales was also being treated for the disease.
But a source said Charles had coped with the past year with a “determination to be as public as he was able” to reassure the nation about how much he could still do.
He has also been buoyed by the Queen’s support.
“Her natural warmth, resilience and sense of humour, as I’m sure any patient will tell you, is a wonderful thing to have,” the source told the PA news agency.
STV News“Of course it’s been a stressful year for Her Majesty, too, but there was never a sense of despondency, only a determination that they would get through this, as with so many other challenging issues in the past.”
Charles is expected to attend church, spending time in private prayers and reflection, on the anniversary, which falls during his summer break on his Aberdeenshire estate in the Scottish Highlands.
The King and Queen are gearing up for an important tour to Australia and Samoa in the autumn – their first major overseas trip since news of Charles’s cancer was announced.
Camilla gave an insight into the King’s treatment this week when she opened a new cancer centre in Bath, revealing he was “doing very well”.
STV NewsGun salutes are usually fired on Accession Day, but because this year the anniversary falls on a Sunday when salutes traditionally do not take place, the military tribute by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Hyde Park and The Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London has been moved to Monday.
Both regiments taking part were responsible for firing the Death Gun salutes to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II two years ago, with almost all of the soldiers and horses participating having a role in the late Queen’s state funeral and the proclamation of the King.
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