The Queen’s cheeky comment after Piper’s wardrobe malfunction |
The Queen’s cheeky comment after her bagpiper’s accidental wardrobe malfunction has been revealed and is typical of the late Queen, who is celebrated for her dry wit. The hilarious encounter between the two comes when the piper was seen waking up King Charles at Windsor Castle, confirming he is carrying on the tradition.
A cloakroom malfunction is embarrassing at best. But having one before Queen Elizabeth, the longest reigning monarch in UK history, is something else entirely.
But that’s exactly what happened to Scott Methven, who served as Queen’s Piper from 2015 to 2019.
He previously told The Spectator how, on a rather unfortunate day, the wind lifted his kilt in front of the Queen – revealing him to be a “true Scotsman”.
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under his kilt, with some insisting that a true Scot wears… well, nothing.
While one might think the Queen wouldn’t take too kindly to being (accidentally) blitzed, it turns out that her characteristic sharp wit and dry humor spared the poor piper further embarrassment.
He revealed she found it funny and even cracked a joke, asking him “if it had been a particularly cold morning.”
Not only did the two share jokes, the Queen also had a relatable and compassionate side. Scott revealed the late Queen “pulled it out of the bag” for him when his wife was diagnosed with cancer in 2017.
Showing how much she cared about those around her, the Queen made sure his two young children were looked after by royal nannies at Balmoral while their mother was in hospital.
The Queen had also arranged for a basket of strawberries and muffins to be sent to her nurses.
The closeness between the Queen and Piper comes when it is revealed that Charles is continuing the tradition of having an official Piper.
Piper Major Burns will continue to work for the monarch after serving Her Majesty the Queen.
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Major Burns will go down in history for having the rare privilege of waking the late Queen Elizabeth II on her last morning at Balmoral.
He also played a significant role at the Queen’s funeral and delivered a moving lament as the late monarch’s coffin was lowered at Windsor in September.
Gordon Webster, who was Piper to the Sovereign in the mid to late 1990s, has previously described the experience as “amazing – the ultimate piping job in the world”.
Opening the roll, he continued, as reported by the Mail: “Because the Queen didn’t like you repeating tunes every other day, I probably had about 700 or 800 tunes and they’re all [in my head] because as a bagpiper you don’t use music.”
The tradition of having a piper dates back to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the 19th century.
When the couple stayed at Taymouth Castle with the Marquess of Breadalbane, he had his own piper. Something Victoria is said to have delighted in.
She wrote in a letter to her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Kent: “We have heard nothing but bagpipes since we were in the beautiful Highlands, and I have grown so fond of it that I intend to have a piper at Frogmore.”
It’s not the only tradition established by Queen Victoria that the modern royal family still follows. It was she who reportedly first started exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day.
