Royal good cheer! King Charles beams as he attends Caithness church service during his annual Scottish summer holiday
King Charles seemed delighted today as he attended a Sunday church service in Caithness during his annual holiday in Scotland.
The royal family, 74, mingled with other churchgoers outside Canisbay Church, mainland Scotland’s most northerly parish church.
Charles spends the first week of August at the Castle of Mey in Caithness, the former home of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, before being joined by his wife at Birkhall.
He wore traditional Scottish dress for church today, opting for a kilt in green, blue, red and black tartan.
His Majesty completed the garment with red knee-high socks, a tweed blazer and waistcoat, and traditional sporran.
King Charles appears to roar with laughter as he is photographed after a service at Canisbay Church in Caithness
The royal family wore a traditional kilt for their outing today, also with red knee-high socks and a sporran
A small purple flower was tucked into his buttonhole, while a pocket square, which also appeared to show off a tartan print, was the finishing touch.
The Royal Family was spotted walking with parishioners, as well as Reverend Janet Easton Berry, smiling and chatting, and at one point even appearing to be roaring with laughter.
After the service, the royal was caught planting a tree in the church grounds.
He was seen smiling as he got stuck in the dirty work, holding a shovel and digging a hole in the ground to plant the young tree.
Today’s appearance followed yesterday’s engagement as he attended his first Mey Highland Games since becoming monarch.
For that outing, in the village of John O’Groats in Wick, he chose to wear a kilt made from Prince Charles Edward Stewart’s tartan.
The Prince Charles Edward Stewart tartan is a variation of the Royal Stewart tartan, which has its origins in the House of Stewart, according to the Scottish Register of Tartans.
He combined the traditional kilt with a green tweed jacket and matching waistcoat and a pair of thick red woolen socks.
The king (pictured, left) appeared in good spirits as he interacted with churchgoers on his outing earlier today
Charles spends the first week of August at the Castle of Mey in Caithness, then joined by his wife Camilla at Birkhall
The monarch (pictured, left) was photographed walking and talking to the Reverend Janet Easton (pictured, right)
After the service, Charles planted a tree in the church grounds and was caught brandishing the shovel
Good cheer: King Charles smiled after the church service, prior to the tree planting ceremony
The royal family didn’t seem concerned about getting dirty and got stuck digging a hole to plant the sapling in
Arriving at the event, the king shook hands with the crowd before taking a front row seat to watch the action.
The event, which was founded in 1970 and is said to be the smallest Highland Games, started with a traditional dance.
There are over 60 Highland Games in Scotland each year, but the Braemar Gathering, held every September, was a particular highlight for the late Queen.
Last year, Her Majesty was unable to attend the event due to ill health, which meant Charles had to replace his mother at the last minute.
Palace sources told the Daily Mail this week that there are no plans to celebrate the Queen’s one-year anniversary on September 8.
His Majesty is expected to spend the day quietly contemplating the moment at Birkhall, his home on the Balmoral estate.
While several members of the family have come and gone from Balmoral in the usual way for the summer holidays, Their Majesties will be spending September 8 ‘quietly and privately’, as Queen Elizabeth always did on the anniversary of her father’s death, they stressed.
Today’s performance at the church (pictured) follows the King’s engagement at the Mey Games yesterday afternoon
The King (pictured, left) is currently on his annual summer trip to Scotland and will soon be joined by Camilla
In addition to dealing with the human parishioners, the monarch was also caught petting a dog outside the church
Charles seemed elated as he admired the little dog, who had been carried to the service in a large duffel bag
Queen Elizabeth always spent the anniversary of her late father, King George VI, privately at Sandringham.
Among the extended Windsor clan that will reside at Balmoral this year are the Prince and Princess of Wales with George, Charlotte and Louis; the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their teenage children, Louise and James.
Also expected are Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, along with her son Peter Phillips and daughter Zara Tindall, both with their brood; and Charles’ cousin, Lady Sarah Chatto.
Charles continues a tradition by attending the Mey Highland Games as his grandmother used to attend annually before her death in 2002.
The Queen Mother had close connections with Caithness following the purchase of the Castle of Mey in 1952 and became a patron of the games soon after.