Queen’s piper reveals embarassing moment he showed the Queen he was a 'true Scotsman' after wind lifted his kilt
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: The late Queen Elizabeth II’s personal piper has said that he once inadvertently “exposed” himself to the late monarch while working for her. Scott Methven, who now no longer works for the royal family, told The Spectator, “One very windy morning, while I was playing the bagpipes at Windsor Castle, my kilt was blown up and, being a ‘true Scotsman’, I was briefly exposed.”
The 48-year-old went on to say that after the incident, he assumed that he “had played well and had avoided embarrassment,” but that was not the case. “I was met by one of the Queen’s closest aides, who had been with her as I’d played. He asked for a quick word. When we went into the Equerry’s Office, he informed me that never in the history of the monarchy had two ‘queens’ been so disappointed in one day,” he recalled, before adding, “Later, while I was escorting Her Majesty, she asked me if it had been a particularly cold morning.”
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Methven was reportedly the monarch’s personal piper for four years — 2015 to 2019. Speaking of those times, he said, “The Queen was not only disarmingly quick-witted and someone who liked to joke, but she was also caring and devoted to her staff. Working alongside her I was able to get to know her sense of humor and the ease with which she spoke to everyone.”
The now-retired army man also remembered his early days on the job as he told the magazine, “On my first day in post when I was feeling a little nervous, Her Majesty asked me if I was settling in. I responded that I was getting lost in the Palace and she laughed and said that she used to get lost with Princess Margaret all the time when they were children.”
Besides, since the Queen was an average heighted person, she once jokingly told Methven, who’s also not very tall, that he was “the first piper to hold the post whom she didn’t have to look up to – a jibe at my 5ft 6in height.” The former royal piper then concluded, “I left my appointment in 2019 for family reasons. I am honored and proud to have not only served Her Majesty through my military career in the Regiment but to have personally served in the household.”
Methven’s memorable piece about the Queen came days after she died at Balmoral castle on September 8. A statement from Buckingham palace read, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.” Later, King Charles also issued a statement that noted, “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held,” he added.