King Charles begins summer at Balmoral with return of mischievous mascot
As King Charles kicked off his official holiday at Balmoral Castle on Monday, the monarch unexpectedly came face to face with a very mischievous mascot that had once caused chaos for his mother The Queen
After a gruelling few months of juggling cancer treatment and royal engagements, King Charles has finally managed to head off to Balmoral Castle for a well deserved holiday at the iconic Scottish residence. Once a beloved retreat of the late Queen Elizabeth, Balmoral has been welcoming royals for a number of years and this Summer was no exception.
Making his arrival on Monday August 19, the King was welcomed to the royal residence with a small ceremony, as he met with members of Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and crucially reunited with their mascot, a Shetland pony known as Corporal Cruachan IV.
In images taken from the event, the King could be seen smiling as he greeted the four legged mascot, and was shown to have donned a kilt in his royal tartan for the occasion. Yet in a break from tradition this year, Corporal Cruachan appeared to be on his best behaviour – a stark contrast to recent years when he had been far more mischievous when greeting the royal family!
Many of the unexpected encounters in which the Corporal had rebelled had taken place during Queen Elizabeth’s time at Balmoral prior to her death in 2022, however despite embracing a mischievous streak, even her late majesty had been able to see the funny side of it!
Take 2018 for example, when the Queen had headed to the Castle for her annual retreat, during the ceremonial greeting the pony had relieved himself directly in front of her, causing the Queen to turn and shield her nose in an attempt to avoid the pungent smell! A similarly naughty event had also taken place the year prior, when the Queen had visited Stirling Castle – although this time, the peckish pony had decided to try and eat her bouquet!
