The Queen’s personal piper accidentally revealed he was a ‘true Scotsman’ when the wind lifted his kilt in front of her, he said yesterday.
Scott Methven, 48, said he was ‘briefly exposed’ while playing the bagpipes on a windy morning outside Windsor Castle and said the Queen later joked about the incident.
‘One very windy morning, while I was playing at Windsor Castle, my kilt was blown up and, being a “true Scotsman”, I was briefly exposed,’ said Mr Methven in The Spectator magazine.
When he returned to the Castle one of the Queen’s aides joked about the incident.
He added: ‘Later, while I was escorting Her Majesty, she asked me if it had been a particularly cold morning.’
The Queen’s personal piper Scott Methven, 48, accidentally revealed he was a ‘true Scotsman’ when the wind lifted his kilt in front of her, he said yesterday
The former Pipe Major served as the Queen’s personal piper from 2015 to 2019, playing outside her window each day at 9am at the various palaces as part of the Royal Household.
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.’
In 2019, he left the Army, having served 25 years. He now teaches the bagpipes.
Mr Methven 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 humour and the ease with which she spoke to everyone.
‘On my first day in post when I was feeling a little nervous, Her Majesty asked me if I was settling in.
Mr Methven said he was ‘briefly exposed’ while playing the bagpipes on a windy morning outside Windsor Castle and said the Queen later joked about the incident
‘I responded that I was getting lost in the Palace and she laughed and set that she used to get lost with Princess Margaret all the time when they were children.’
The Queen, who was famously petite at around 5ft 3ins, also joked about Mr Methven’s height.
He said: ‘She once joked that I was the first piper to hold the post whom she didn’t have to look up to – a jibe at my 5ft 6in height.’
Mr Methven was the 15th Queen’s Piper, after Queen Victoria created the role in 1843, having enjoyed the sound of the bagpipes while on holiday in Taymouth Castle.
He has previously spoken about the Queen’s personal kindness to him and his family after his wife Morven was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The couple’s children were allowed to stay at Balmoral Castle and were cared for by royal nannies, while Mr Methven cared for his wife in hospital, and his five-year-old son Fearghas (corr) played with Prince George.
Mr Methven was the 15th Queen’s Piper, after Queen Victoria created the role in 1843, having enjoyed the sound of the bagpipes while on holiday in Taymouth Castle
A basket with muffins and strawberries was also delivered by the Queen to nurses in duty. Mr Methven claimed that his son often spoke to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh about his passion for red squirrels.
Following his wife’s diagnosis, he said the Queen had told him to put ‘family first’.
He said: ‘I was standing with the Queen and she said “If you’re not here in the morning and you don’t play the bagpipes, then I know you’re away. Don’t wait to ask anyone, just go home if your family need you because it’s family first”.’
He added: ‘She grabbed me by the arm again and said, “You know Pipes, if anyone has a problem with that you tell them that I said it was OK to go”.’
Before joining the Army, Mr Methven was stationed in Northern Ireland. He also served two tours in Afghanistan. In 2019, he retired from active duty and now teaches bagpipes.