King Charles greets special Balmoral guest as he takes on traditional duty with the late Queen Elizabeth’s prestigious title

King Charles greeted a special Balmoral guest as he took on a traditional duty with the late Queen Elizabeth’s prestigious title. 

• His Majesty has been pictured meeting The Royal Regiment of Scotland and their mascot as they officially welcomed him to Balmoral Castle.
• He was recently announced as the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief, succeeding Queen Elizabeth in the role and he undertook an inspection.
• This royal news comes as Princess Mary of Denmark's black and white dotted button-up dress was so darling. 

With several weeks yet before Their Majesties are expected to return to public duties, the King and Queen Consort are currently enjoying the next stage of their annual summer break. They kicked things off with a stay at the Castle of Mey in Caithness before pictures indicated King Charles and Queen Camilla paid a low-key visit in Aberdeenshire. During this time it’s possible they stayed at their private Scottish residence, Birkhall, but now His Majesty has officially been welcomed to Balmoral Castle. 

King Charles greeted a special Balmoral guest on 21st August as he undertook a traditional inspection of the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland at the castle gates.

And, just like his mother used to, King Charles greeted the special Balmoral guest at the welcome ceremony - none other than a pretty adorable Shetland pony. With the rather grand name of Corporal Cruachan IV, the pony is the mascot of The Royal Regiment of Scotland. This is far from his first royal greeting as in recent years he was pictured sharing some equally cute interactions with Queen Elizabeth too.

He also met Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in 2018. The cheeky pony showed his mischievous side when he apparently tried to nibble the Duke of Sussex’s fingers and the year before he’d tried to take a bite out of Queen Elizabeth’s bouquet. He’s also previously relieved himself in front of her, but thankfully from the pictures taken that day and shared by the Royal Family on social media, he seemed to have behaved himself this time around with King Charles.

This official welcome and inspection marked a series of firsts, as it was the first time he’s done the inspection since becoming monarch, as well as the first time he’s stayed officially at Balmoral in the summer as King. It was also the first time he’s taken on this traditional duty since it was recently announced that he’s succeeded Queen Elizabeth as the Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

King Charles greeting Cruachan IV and inspecting the Balaklava Company was the first public sighting of the monarch since his summer holiday began in July. He’s not expected to attend any engagements until he returns to London, with some reports suggesting that this could be in September. 

If so, that could mean that he’s planning to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s passing on 8th September here. It’s already been confirmed that he would be honouring this heartbreaking anniversary “quietly and privately”, with reports suggesting Prince William and the Princess of Wales will be delivering an address.