That hits the spot, says Queen after sampling whisky in Edinburgh
The Queen has enjoyed sampling whisky at an event in Edinburgh marking the 900th anniversary of the city.
The King, wearing his King Charles III Tartan kilt, and the Queen, in a mint green Anna Valentine ensemble, were shown around stalls celebrating Scottish business and culture.
Waiting for them at one stall were two large drams of 52-year-old Macallan whisky from the Aberdeen company Duncan Taylor.
After knocking it back, the Queen was overheard saying: “That hits the spot, that hits the spot.”
Evan Robertson, the director of Duncan Taylor, said: “The King was over the moon about the whisky.”
Kevin Alston, the company’s marketing manager, added: “Camilla was encouraging him. She waited for him to join her and knew he would be cross if she drank it without him.”
The King took part in a short Ceremony of The Key as he was welcomed inside the castle.
As the King and Queen were driven up the hill to Crown Square, the City of Edinburgh Band played a specially written piece composed by Pipe Major Iain Lowther of Queen Victoria School called King Charles III Welcome to Edinburgh Castle.
The couple were greeted by the Quarter Guards present arms and national anthem before meeting dozens of wellwishers.
A brisk wind whipped around the castle amid brief rain showers, prompting the Queen to say: “I’m hanging onto my umbrella.”
The King told one guest: “I hope you don’t get blown away”.
He told one member of the public who asked how he was that he was “not too bad”.
The couple met Edinburgh locals including the television presenter Gail Porter and the author Ian Rankin before watching an energetic and entertaining routine by the Bollywood-style dance troupe Dance Ihayami.
Their routine infused traditional Indian and Scottish music and the King was later overheard telling them: “I liked the bagpipes”.
They also marvelled at stalls for Prince’s Trust, Scottish Register of Tartans, Barnardo’s children’s charity, and Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh.
Sarah Cullen, the policy officer at the Scottish Register of Tartans, said: “He said he had a new tartan and asked if we had registered it, which we had.”
Alexander McCall Smith performed a short poem, written for the 900th anniversary of the City of Edinburgh.
To complete the celebrations, the King cut a two-tier birthday cake made by the 2020 Great British Bake Off winner Peter Sawkins, 24, from Edinburgh, before being regaled with a rousing three cheers.
It comes as the Prince and Princess of Wales appointed a former Tesco boss known as “Drastic Dave” for his brutal cost-cutting measures to the board of their Royal Foundation.
Sir David Lewis has been appointed director of the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales as well as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund Trustee Company.
He was taken on by Lord Hague, who chairs the foundation’s team of trustees, joining a diverse roster of advisors including the film producer Dame Pippa Harris, the broadcaster Zeinab Badawi, the former Worldpay chief executive Sir Ron Kalifa, the lawyer Claire Wills and the former BBC executive Alice Webb.
Sir David, 59, was chief executive of Tesco from 2014 to 2020 and is widely credited with turning around its fortunes, returning the chain to profitability.
He previously spent 28 years at consumer goods giant Unilever, where he earned his nickname.
In January, the father of two joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the private equity owner of Morrisons. He is also the chairman of the board of trustees at the World Wide Fund for Nature.
