Queen's piper recalls her 'quick wit' and kindness

As Queen's Piper, Scott Methven would play for the Queen for 15 minutes every morning

As tributes to Queen Elizabeth II continue to pour in, her personal piper has recalled the monarch's quick wit.

Pipe Major Scott Methven, 48, who served the Queen between 2015 and 2019, said she delivered regular one-liners.

When he was appointed, she joked: "The whole reason you got the job is I am getting older and I don't have to look up at you."

He would play the pipes every morning for 15 minutes wherever the Queen was resident, often Windsor Castle.

Maj Methven was the 15th Queen's Piper, following the creation of the role in 1843 by Queen Victoria.

While in the role he would perform at 09:00, wherever the Queen was staying, and was also responsible for meeting and greeting people before they met her.

Maj Methven said the Queen not only enjoyed the bagpipes but got to know him as a person

"It was a pleasure as her Majesty would stand and watch you play," he told the BBC. "She enjoyed the bagpipes, but she got to know you as a person."

He recalled a visit to Windsor for Royal Ascot week, where he accidentally called the Queen "Your Royal Highness".

"I said 'I do beg your pardon, good afternoon Your Majesty' and she grabbed me by the arm and said 'Pipes, it has been 60 years since somebody called me Your Royal Highness and I quite liked it'," he said.

'Only one who cared'

On hearing the news she had died last week, he said he was devastated.

"It was my daughter who phoned me and she was crying. As my daughter put it, it felt like she was the only one who cared about our family."

While serving as the Queen's Piper, Maj Methven lost his parents and wife within eight months.

"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'."

Maj Methven said being chosen as the Queen's personal piper was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

"I was lucky enough to go for lunch with the Queen, no pressure at all," he told the BBC, adding he wasn't told that it was actually an audition and interview, until 18 months later.

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