The Queen awakes to the sound of silence
The Queen’s piper has been silenced for the first time in 175 years.
Every weekday since she came to the throne in 1952, the Queen has started her day to the sound of a lone piper playing beneath her bedroom window.
It is a tradition that dates back 175 years to her greatgreat-grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Members of the Royal Household can practically set their watches by the pipes, which start at precisely 9am and last for exactly 15 minutes.
But for the past five weeks the sound of silence has hung in the air at Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish residence.
For the Piper to the Sovereign, Pipe Major Scott Methven of the 5 Scots Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, has sadly had to relinquish his duties unexpectedly for family reasons.
“The Queen was very understanding and compassionate and agreed that Scott should stop his duties immediately,” said a Balmoral source.
“She totally understood his position and told him not to worry.”
The piper’s principal duty is to play under the Queen’s window when she is at Buckingham Palace, Windsor, Holyroodhouse or Balmoral.
A new piper is now hurriedly being lined up.