King Charles meets 'notoriously naughty pony' as he begins Balmoral holiday tradition, more of the best pictures of Britain's royal family in Scotland over the years
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To mark the first Balmoral summer holiday of King Charles III’s reign — the monarch is following in late mother Queen Elizabeth II’s footsteps and taking up residence at the Scottish castle to close out the season — join us as we take a look at him and more royals visiting Scotland over the decades, starting with this photo…
King Charles III met the Royal Regiment of Scotland mascot — a Shetland pony named Corporal Cruachan IV — during an inspection of Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at the gates of his Balmoral estate as he took up summer residence at the castle on Aug. 21, 2023, following a tradition started by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
People magazine reported that greeting the “notoriously naughty pony” is another tradition, though Cruachan was better behaved for Charles: In 2018 when he saw the queen during the same ceremonial welcome to Balmoral, the pony relieved himself, leading Her Majesty to shield her nose — see that photo next!
Then keep reading for more photos of the British royal family in Scotland through the years…
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Queen Elizabeth II shielded her nose after speaking with Pony Major Mark Wilkinson — who was handling regimental mascot Cruachan IV, a Shetland pony that relieved himself in her presence alongside Officer Commanding Major Johnny Thompson — as she inspected Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the gates of her Balmoral estate as she took up summer residence at the castle on Aug. 6, 2018.
In 2017, Cruachan — whom People magazine has dubbed a “notoriously naughty pony” — tried to eat a bouquet of flowers the queen was holdingduring a visit to Stirling Castle. According to People, his antics once led the famed horsewoman to quip upon seeing him, “Here we are again.”
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In 1972, Queen Elizabeth II attended an event at Archers Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, wearing the sash of the Order of the Thistle.
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Princess Kate and Prince William joined King Charles III and wife Queen Camilla to watch the British Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, perform a fly-past over the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 5, 2023, following a National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication that marked the “Scottish coronation” of Charles and Camilla.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are seen here with some of their beloved corgis as well as their children — Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles and Princess Anne — outside Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Sept. 1, 1979. The estate they’re on was purchased by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, in 1846. He had the original castle rebuilt out of granite in the 1850s.
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Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer posed on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland on May 1, 1981, just a few months before their wedding.
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Prince Charles and Princess Diana appeared on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland again in 1981 during their honeymoon.
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Prince William went to college in Scotland. He’s seen here posing in St. Salvator’s Quad at the University of St. Andrews on Nov. 15, 2004.
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Just a few weeks after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the country’s new monarch — King Charles III — and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, waved on their way to meet members of the public after leaving City Chambers and heading to Dunfermline Abbey in Dunfermline, Scotland, on Oct. 3, 2022.
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Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and daughter Princess Anne attended the Highland Games in Braemar, Scotland, in 1962.
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Accompanied by grandmother Queen Mary and grandfather King George V, young Princess Elizabeth — later Queen Elizabeth II — traveled by carriage to a service at Crathie Church during a stay at Balmoral in Scotland in 1932.
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Prince William and Duchess Kate hosted a drive-in cinema screening of Disney’s “Cruella” for Scottish NHS workers at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 26, 2021, during a week-long visit. While in Scotland, the couple are known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn.
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This personal photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the top of the Coyles of Muick in Scotland, taken by Sophie, Countess of Wessex in 2003, was released by the palace in April 2021 in the wake of the Duke of Edinburgh’s death.
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For the first time in her 70-year reign, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II appointed a new prime minister not while in London but from her home in Scotland. Her Majesty welcomed Liz Truss — who replaced Boris Johnson — on Sept. 6, 2022, during an audience at Balmoral, her estate in the Highlands, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become prime minister and form a new government. The reason for the big change? The monarch, who spent her summers in Scotland, was experiencing ongoing health and mobility issues so the decision was made to bring the politician to her. This marked the last time Her Majester was publicly photographed: She died two days later.
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A plaid-clad Duchess Kate joined Prince William in Dundee, Scotland, to officially open the V&A design museum on Jan. 29, 2019. When visiting the northern country, the married couple use their Scottish titles, Earl and Countess of Strathearn.
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A kilted Prince Charles joined mother Queen Elizabeth II at the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland — Princess Margaret and husband Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, were also there — in 1960.
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More plaid! Clad in traditional tartan — a sash for her, a kilt for him — Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrived at the Royal Scottish Piper’s Society Ball in the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 2, 1982.
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Prince Charles arrived on the queen’s flight at Aberdeen Airport in Scotland on Aug. 15, 1983, and exited after Princess Diana while carrying a young Prince William before heading to their family’s Balmoral estate.
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Princess Diana and young sons Prince William and Prince Harry arrived at Aberdeen Airport in Scotland on Aug. 15, 1986, to start their summer holidays with the queen.
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Queen Elizabeth II posed with one of her beloved corgis at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on Sept. 28, 1952 — almost exactly 70 years before she died there.
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Queen Elizabeth II beamed during the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse during Holyrood Week in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 27, 2022 — just two months before her death. It was her first public appearance, following bouts of poor health sparked by ongoing mobility issues, since her Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended on June 5. Traditionally, the monarch would head to Scotland every year for her summer holidays. The country within the United Kingdom was a very special place for Her Majesty: The monarch was descended from Scotland’s Royal House of Stewart on both sides of her family and had summered there since she was a child, nestling in at Balmoral on her privately owned estate in the Scottish Highlands that’s belonged to her family since the 1840s.
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A happy and smiling Queen Elizabeth ll walked across the grounds of her beloved Balmoral Castle — her private summer home in the Scottish Highlands — on Aug. 7, 2002, to meet some of the 3,000 guests who were invited to a Garden Party held on the final day of her Golden Jubilee tour celebrating 50 years on the throne. The monarch died there almost exactly 20 years later.
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Queen Elizabeth II and daughter Princess Anne, the Princess Royal spent time together during a visit to the Childrens Wood Project in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 30, 2021, as part of the monarch’s traditional trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.
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More than 86 years later, Queen Elizabeth II chose a different form of transportation — her trusty Range Rover — as she drove on her Balmoral Estate in Scotland on Sept. 22, 2018.
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Prince Charles and Princess Anne attended a service for the Order of the Thistle — the highest order of chivalry in Scotland — where they helped install two new members at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 30, 2022.
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The royal gang’s all here! Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence; Prince Charles; and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and her husband, Prince Edward, all attended a garden party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 29, 2022, during the queen’s traditional trip to Scotland for Holyrood Week.
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Fifty-five years later, Queen Elizabeth II attended the same event with Princess Anne and Prince Charles. They really seemed to enjoy the sack race at the Braemar Highland Gathering in Scotland on Sept. 2, 2017.
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Prince Harry brought then-fiancée Meghan Markle — who donned a Burberry’s Black Watch tartan coat for the occasion — to visit the Social Bite charity shop in Edinburgh, Scotland, where they met with organizers and staff and heard about their work with the homeless, on Feb. 13, 2018. In Scotland, the couple are known as the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton.
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Prince Charles had a laugh at the Mey Highland Games at the John O’Groats showground in Scotland on Aug. 3, 2019. But it certainly wasn’t his first time at a highland games competition…
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Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex visited Scotland’s Forfar Golf Club on June 28, 2021, where they planted a tree and unveiled a plaque to mark the 150th Anniversary of the golf club and the first 18-hole golf club in the world.
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Queen Elizabeth II received First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon during an audience at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on June 29, 2021.
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Time for a tipple! Prince Charles — who’s known as the Duke of Rothesay when he’s in Scotland — toured the Wolfburn Distillery (which is known for its traditional whisky production) in Caithness, Scotland on July 29, 2019.
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Queen Elizabeth II and the governor of Edinburgh Castle, Major General Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, visited Scotland’s Palace of Holyrood house ahead of the ancient “Ceremony of the Keys,” during which the keys of the city of Edinburgh are given to the sovereign, on June 28, 2021, during the monarch’s Royal Week visit to Scotland.
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Prince Charles joined his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the Braemar Highland Gathering in Scotland on Sept. 1, 2018.
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A kilted Prince Charles accompanied his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and plaid-clad wife Princess Diana to watch the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland in September 1987.
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With Queen Elizabeth II unable to attend due to ongoing health issues, her two oldest children — Princess Anne and Prince Charles — went in her stead and shared a laugh with the then-Prince of Wales’s wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during the annual Braemar Gathering Highland Games at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on Sept. 3, 2022 — five days before the queen’s death at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands, and her son’s accession as the newly named King Charles III.
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Prince Charles and sons Prince Harry and Prince William played on the banks of the River Dee in Ballater, Scotland, near the queen’s Balmoral Estate on April 10, 1987.
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Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William visited Glen Muick on the queen’s Balmoral Estate in Scotland on Aug. 16, 1997.
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A kilt- and sporran-clad Prince Charles, who carried a shepherd’s crook walking stick, visited Polvier by the River Dee on the queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland with Prince William and Prince Harry and their dogs, black Labrador retriever Widgeon and Jack Russell terrier Tigga, on Aug. 10, 1997.
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A few months after he married Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles brought his new bride to son Prince William’s graduation from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on June 23, 2005.
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Kate Middleton — the future Duchess of Cambridge — also graduated from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on June 23, 2005.
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Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh — whose title is rooted in Scotland — looked playful as he and Queen Elizabeth ll joined grandson Prince William at the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering in Braemar, Scotland, on Sept. 3, 2005. The visit marked William’s first appearance at the annual event.
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Queen Elizabeth II, son Prince Charles and grandson Peter Phillips, along with Peter’s then-wife Autumn Phillips, attended the 2019 Braemar Highland Games in Braemar, Scotland, on Sept. 7, 2019.
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Prince William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton, was photographed on a grouse shoot in Scotland in August 2009 on the weekend of the 12th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. She and William would get engaged a year later.
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Prince William and Duchess Kate arrived to officially open The Balfour, Orkney Hospital in Kirkwall, Scotland, on day five of their week-long visit to Scotland on May 25, 2021.
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Duchess Kate visited with bagpipe players and band members at the Strathearn Community Campus in Crieff, Scotland, on May 29, 2014.
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Queen consort Mary of Teck posed with son Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) and his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) on the grounds of Balmoral in Scotland during their annual autumn visit at some time during the 1930s.
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Less than six months after this photo was taken on the grounds of the Balmoral Estate in Scotland, King George VI would be dead and Princess Elizabeth would be queen. The royals — young Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), Princess Margaret, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, King George VI and Princess Elizabeth with baby Princess Anne — all posed together for one of their last family portraits with the king on Aug. 22, 1951.
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Shortly before the death of her father and accession of her sister, Princess Margaret posed for a 21st birthday portrait inside Glamis Castle in Scotland in 1951. Glamis is the childhood home of her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and is where Margaret was born in 1930.
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A newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II wore a pleated skirt and three-button jacket while Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, wore a kilt and Prince Charles and Princess Anne donned corduroys and short woolen jackets outside Balmoral Castle in 1953.
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Queen Elizabeth II was officially welcomed to Balmoral in Scotland by Balaklava Company 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland on Aug. 6, 2019.
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Ever wonder what Balmoral Castle looks like on the inside? Royal watchers got a peek when Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and wife Lady Cosgrove met with Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience in the drawing room on Sept. 21, 2007.
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Here’s another peek inside Balmoral: This photo was taken as Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, relaxed with one of their many dogs while on holiday in Scotland on Sept. 26, 1976.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip love the outdoors. They got up close and personal with some Highland cattle on her Balmoral Estate in Scotland in 1972.
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Queen Elizabeth II was joined by son Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, at the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse during Holyrood Week in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 27, 2022.
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Even into her 90s, Queen Elizabeth II has remained an avid equestrian. The monarch — who started taking riding lessons when she was 3 — is seen on her horse alongside a groom on her Balmoral Estate in Scotland on Sept. 8, 2017. She’s previously joked that she doesn’t wear protective headgear because she doesn’t like to muss her hair. These days, she also stays in when it’s raining. “I’m rather a fair-weather rider now. I don’t like getting cold and wet,” she told an aide as seen on an ITV documentary.
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Queen Elizabeth II chatted with keeper Maia Gordon as Olive the duck walked alongside them during a visit to Gorgie City Farm in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 4, 2019.
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Queen Elizabeth II posed on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Prince Philip, Princess Anne and Prince Charles in 1959. Eisenhower was the second of 12 American presidents the monarch has met and spent time with during her life.
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Twenty years later in September 1979, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip posed with their four children — Prince Edward, Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew — on her Balmoral Estate in Scotland.
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The monarch has also hosted other royals in Scotland: She’s seen here with husband Prince Philip and King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway during the foreign royals’ state visit to Scotland on July 6, 1994.
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Hollywood celebrities have made the cut in Scotland too: Queen Elizabeth II is seen here greeting “Lamb Chop’s Play-Along” star Shari Lewis, “Starsky & Hutch” actor David Soul and country music legend Dolly Parton following a variety show in Glasgow during her Silver Jubilee tour of Scotland on May 17, 1977.
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Prince Albert (later King George VI) spent eight hours inspecting Glasgow, Scotland, factories in December 1919, including during a visit to William Beardmore and Company, a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate. He’s pictured walking with William Beardmore, 1st Baron Invernairn, in 1919.
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A few years later, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was presented with a bouquet of flowers during a 1923 visit to the Mcvitie & Price Factory in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was tasked with making her wedding cake for her forthcoming marriage to Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI).
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A smiling King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, are seen in an undated photograph at Ballater Railway Station in Scotland dressed informally and accompanied by a leashed dog and a railway worker. Ballater was at the time the closest railway station to their Scottish residence, Balmoral Castle.
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One week after their engagement was announced publicly, Princess Elizabeth was joined by Lt. Philip Mountbatten at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, following a presentation party held by her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, for 800 guests at the Palace of Holyrood House on July 16, 1947.
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An incredible 67 years later, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II were side by side again, this time to watch the children’s sack race at the Braemar Highland Gathering in Scotland on Sept. 6, 2014.
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Princess Elizabeth wore a lime green gown with a Royal Stewart tartan sash as she danced the quick-step with Mr. David Bogle at the Aboyne Ball in the Victory Hall Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in November 1949.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William are seen leaving a service for the Order of the Thistle — and ancient order of chivalry founded by King James VII of Scotland in 1687 — at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 6, 2018.
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Clad in traditional regalia, Princess Anne also attended the Order of the Thistle Ceremony at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 6, 2018.
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Commander Timothy Laurence and Princess Anne are pictured on their wedding day with Queen Elizabeth II and the bride’s daughter, Zara Phillips, at Crathie Church in Balmoral, Scotland, in 1992.
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Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Phillips, is pictured on her wedding day with new husband Mike Tindall outside Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 30, 2011.
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Zara Phillips, the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, arrived for her wedding to rugby player Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 30, 2011.
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The family’s all here! Prince William, Duchess Kate, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward, Princess Beatrice and Prince Andrew all attended the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 30, 2011.
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More family! Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, Prince Harry, Duchess Kate, Prince William and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence attended the royal wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall at Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 30, 2011.
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A rare sight indeed! Queen Elizabeth II wore pants in public as she joined other members of the royal family to start a two-week cruise in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland on July 23, 2010. The cruise was a celebration to mark the 50th birthday of Prince Andrew and the 60th birthday of Princess Anne.
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Princess Eugenie, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice, James, Viscount Severn, Prince Andrew, Peter Phillips and Autumn Phillips disembarked in Scrabster, Scotland, on Aug. 2, 2010, after joining the queen on a two-week cruise to celebrate the 50th birthday of Prince Andrew and the 60th birthday of Princess Anne.
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Queen Elizabeth II carried a young Prince Andrew during an outing on the grounds of her home at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Nov. 8, 1960.
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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, posed with sons Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, who sported a beard, during their summer holidays in Scotland on Aug. 14, 1983.
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Queen Elizabeth II and daughter-in-law Sarah, Duchess of York — whose divorce from Prince Andrew would be finalized six years later — marked the end of the Balmoral summer season with an appearance at Scotland’s Braemar Highland Games on Sept. 1, 1990.
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In 1998, Tiger Woods and a newly divorced Prince Andrew attended the Dunhill Golf Cup Open Tournament at St. Andrews in Scotland, which is famed for its incredible golf courses. (Scotland is also where the game is believed to have been invented.)
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Queen Elizabeth II and son Prince Edward laughed after she she stepped off a Boeing 707 gangway at Glasgow Airport in Scotland and slipped, almost landing on his toes, on Aug. 7, 1978.
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Nearly 41 years later, Prince Edward wore a kilt to visit the Whiskey train line in Dufftown, Scotland, on July 2, 2019.
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Keeping cozy! Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth II cut the chill with a sturdy plaid blanket as they watched the Braemar Gathering at the Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar, Scotland, on Sept. 5, 2015.
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King Charles III attended the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 3, 2023, to kick off the first Royal Week of his reign.
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