Songs Of Praise filmed at Balmoral church for first time

The Scottish church where Queen Elizabeth II worshipped has hosted the BBC’s Songs Of Praise programme for the first time to mark the second anniversary of her death.

Crathie Kirk is very close to Balmoral, where Elizabeth spent summer breaks on her Aberdeenshire estate with her family.

The nation’s longest-reigning monarch died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on September 8 2022 at the age of 96.

Queen Elizabeth II sits in Crathie Kirk during a service in 2014 (PA). PA Media

The special programme, due to be screened on Sunday, features a hymn commissioned by the King called Crathie in honour of the building.

During the programme, presenter Claire McCollum meets Crathie’s minister and chaplain to the monarch, Reverend Ken MacKenzie, to reflect on the late Queen’s deep faith and how she always felt part of his congregation.

He will take the broadcaster on a historical tour of the kirk, including the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1893 and the royal pews where the King and Queen Camilla regularly worship.

The Rev Ken MacKenzie is chaplain to the monarch (Andrew O’Brien/PA) PA Media

Professor Paul Mealor conducts the congregation during the special recording, with those gathered singing a number of hymns including the new piece written by him for the King.

Prof Mealor is one of the country’s leading composers who has created music for a number of royal events including Charles’s 65th, 70th and 75th birthdays, and the 2011 wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Claire McCollum also meets a local ghillie – an attendant during hunting or fishing trips – on the River Dee to see how faith and fly-fishing can go hand in hand, before taking a walk through the Cairngorms with Merryn Glover, an award-winning Christian writer to compose a poem reflective of her time there.

Songs Of Praise was first broadcast on the BBC in October 1961 and showcases congregations around the UK singing hymns and spiritual music.