A royal piper played a cheeky joke which saw him 'punched' by Queen Elizabeth II.
Scott Methven, who held the prestigious role of Sovereign's Piper from 2015 to 2019, said he was playing the bagpipes for 22 members of the Royal Family on the Balmoral Castle estate, surrounded by the torch bearers, on the evening in question.
It was during the Queen's annual summer retreat, and she had asked him to play the bagpipes through the woods as she'd asked the rest of the family to join her for a barbecue.
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He told the People that after the woodland walk, he played for the Royal Family outside a small cottage on the estate
"It was probably the eeriest and weirdest thing I've ever done," he said.
At around 8pm the family started coming out, but at that exact same moment, however, a cloud of midges also arrived and started "biting everyone to death," sais Methven.
While Prince William, Kate Middleton and the rest of the royal family started swiping at the insects, Methven himself stood completely still and continued to play his pipes — something he says that made a big impression on the Queen.
"I never flickered an inch. Never moved an inch once as I played," he said.
Methven was later invited for drink and was personally handed a "three-quarters of a wine glass full of whisky as a joke."
He added: "The Queen said 'Pipes. Can you please tell me: The midges were fierce tonight, but you didn't move an inch. You didn't flinch at all?'"
"I said 'Yes, your majesty. I have a secret weapon," reveals Methven.
"The Queen said 'Really? So why were they not biting you? What's your secret weapon?'"
It was at this point that Methven played his practical joke.
"I said 'I laced myself internally with gin,' and she punched me in the arm!" said Methven.
He added: "Kate and William were sitting at the end of the table and everybody just looked up as if to say 'The Queen just punched Pipes!'
"So I totally over-exaggerated it. I grabbed my arm pretending I was really hurt, going 'The queen just punched me!' She just started laughing and then everyone else did too.
"There are not many people in the world who can say they were punched by the Queen! The Queen punched me on the arm and served me my drink. I can die a happy man."
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