The Piper to the Sovereign (), more commonly known as the King's Piper (''Pìobaire an Rìgh'') or Queen's Piper (''Pìobaire a' Bhanrighe''), is a position in the

British Royal Household The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, f ...

in which the holder of the office is responsible for playing the

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

at the Sovereign's request.

History

The position was established in 1843 when

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

visited

John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane, (26 October 1796 – 8 November 1862), styled Lord Glenorchy until 1831 and as Earl of Ormelie from 1831 to 1834, was a British Liberal politician. Background and education Born at Dundee, Angus, B ...

Taymouth Castle Taymouth Castle is situated to the north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross, in the Highlands of Scotland, in an estate which encompasses . It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, about from Loch Tay, in the heartland of the ...

a year earlier and discovered the Marquess had his own personal piper. The Queen was taken with the idea of having one for herself, writing to her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Kent: The office has been held continuously since then (apart from a brief interruption during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) and the piper's main duty is to play at 9a.m. for 15 minutes under the Sovereign's window, and on state occasions. The first Piper to the Sovereign was Angus MacKay, a noted collector and publisher of ''

piobaireachd Pibroch, or is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning 'piping' in Scottish Gaelic, has for some ...

''. Every subsequent piper has been a serving

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

and experienced

pipe major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

(PM) from a

Scottish regiment Scottish regiments are Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military units which at some point during their existence have had a form of connection with Scotland. Though the military history of Scotland dates back to the era o ...

or an

Irish Regiment The Irish military diaspora refers to the many people of either Irish birth or extraction (see Irish diaspora) who have served in overseas armed forces, military forces, regardless of rank, duration of service, or success. Many overseas militar ...

. While the Piper is a member of the Royal Household, he retains his military rank for the duration of the secondment. *1843–1854: Angus MacKay *1854–1891: PM William Ross, 42nd Highlanders (

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

) *1891–1910: PM James Campbell, 42nd Highlanders (Black Watch) *1910–1941: PM Henry Forsyth,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

*1941–1945: ''None'' *1945–1965: PM Alexander MacDonald, Scots Guards *1965–1973: PM Andrew Pitkeathly,

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

*1973–1980: PM David Caird,

Royal Highland Fusiliers The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Prior to 28 March 2006, the Royal Highland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment in its own right, creat ...

*1980–1995: PM Brian MacRae,

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

*1995–1998: PM Gordon Webster, Scots Guards *1998–2003: PM Jim Motherwell, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders *2003–2006: PM Jim Stout, The Highlanders, 1st Battalion *2006–2008: PM Alastair Cuthbertson, 1st Battalion,

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

*2008–2012: PM Derek Potter RVM,

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a light Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest survivi ...

*2012–2015: PM David Rodgers,

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

*2015–2019: PM Scott Methven,

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the British Army Order of Precedence, senior and only current Scottish regiment, Scottish line infantry Regiment#British Army, regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (form ...

*2019–2021: PM Richard Grisdale, Royal Regiment of Scotland *2021–present: PM Paul Burns, Royal Regiment of Scotland

References

External links

Official Royal posts, The Queen's Piper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piper To The Sovereign 1843 establishments in the United Kingdom British military bands British military music Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom Pipe bands Positions within the British Royal Household

History

See also

References

External links