The residents of Ballater were “thrilled to meet our future king” as they welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay to the village.
Arriving in Ballater on Tuesday morning, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles first paid a visit to the village’s new Community and Heritage Hub where they unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.
The couple then toured the village, stopping at local shops on the way and speaking to residents of Ballater who lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the pair.
‘His heart is in the village’
Life-long Ballater resident Alistair Cassie, 76, who welcomed the two royals to the new Community and Heritage Hub said: “I have mixed with most of the royal family and they integrate very well with the village and people in the village respect them.
“He certainly put a lot of effort and money into the village, in particular the caravan site which was badly damaged by the flooding.
“He did very well, his heart is very much in the village.
“I get on very well with him, I was invited up to Birkhall and we have had some cracking nights up there – it is very off the cuff stuff.
“He is very nice, he even sent me a present on my birthday. He is very friendly and he is very open and informal.
“Everyone always thinks the royals are something different but they are just normal people and when they come up here on holiday they like to be treated as normal people – just be yourself.”
Eileen Lawrence, 80, was just one resident who waited outside to try her luck at meeting the two Royals.
She said: “Everyone is delighted that they have an interest in Ballater, he was wonderful after the flooding. He put a caravan out near the barracks for free food for everybody.”
Tens of residents then followed behind the Duke and Duchess as they made their way around the village, with a lively atmosphere as elated passers-by pointed out Princess Anne as she drove past.
However, Anne Richardson, 78, says that royal visits become the norm after a while.
She said: “He’s just normal, I was very fortunate a few years back to actually go to one of the get togethers at Birkhall and it was just like being in someone’s house.
“He has done a hell of a lot for this village especially for the caravan park, it was like a bombsite before he stepped in,” added Anne’s partner, John Richardson.
‘He will make a good King’
Stopping to pay their respects at the war memorial on Bridge Street, 94-year-old Colonel Hugh Inkster, a member of the British Legion who was “dying to meet the Prince” managed to share a few words with Prince Charles.
Speaking after their encounter, Mr Inkster said: “I was dying to meet him because I have waved to him from afar but I never really spoke to him.
“To me, he will make a good king.
“My young brother knew him terribly well and he said that whatever he says or writes that it is him that is talking – he doesn’t get someone else to write it for him and then sign it.
“He is very good news for the local people. He loves Ballater and he has done a lot for Ballater, they all have.
“I have met his mother many times, my father was the electrician in Balmoral and I lived 300 yards from the castle down the river so I met the Queen, she is just months older than me.
“I spoke to the Queen around two years ago about the war memorial and she asked me why I maintain it and I told her it was pay back time as a soldier but I said it also gets me away from the hoovering and she killed herself laughing – she is a marvelous lady.
“We had that flood of course and he did a power of work after that and it’s just ongoing from Queen Victoria, she fell in love with the Highlands and that was it.”
Speaking about living in Balmoral as a child, the colonel said: “When I was a boy during the war, they came up on holiday and there was barbed wire all the way around Balmoral and a battalion of soldiers looking after them.
“I lived inside the barbed wire as well because my father was the electrician and we lived in Queen Victoria’s old converted laundry.
“So I must have seen her more than most people when she was young”.
Continuing their tour of the village, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay stopped at local businesses, including the Ballater Gallery.
“My knees have gone a bit jelly,” said Helen Johnstone, 55, staff at the gallery.
“I am really excited to have met them, I have met Camilla before and she was really charming but I am actually thrilled to have met out future king”.
Owner at the gallery David Reid, 58, went on: “We have had Camilla in before, we get quite a lot of them in but that was Prince Charles’ first visit so it was really nice.
“It was lovely to see her back and to meet him for the first time, and they are both big art fans so it was great that they appreciate what we are doing.
“It was really flattering that they liked a lot of the pieces as well.
“It is fantastic and we see a lot of them and they go about so casually, they feel so relaxed here.”
The Duke and Duchess then made their way to the iconic Cambus O’May suspension bridge where they thanked those involved for their efforts in restoring the bridge which was severely damaged by the flooding during Storm Frank in 2015.
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