Visitors to a Deeside festival will enjoy the world premiere of a soldier’s song written for the Queen this weekend.
Pipe Major Stuart Gillies, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 Scots), wrote the piece to mark the Queen’s record-breaking reign.
She was given a recital of the music at Balmoral Castle on the date she reached the milestone, on September 9, and at the end of her stay at Balmoral she was also presented with a copy.
Now The Longest Reign will be performed in public by the pipes and drums of 2 Scots as part of Food and Fiddle Fortnight.
The piece will be premiered at Deeside Activity Park, near Aboyne, on Sunday at 2pm.
The soldiers have been on royal guard duties on Royal Deeside for the past three months.
Sunday’s performance will be one of the final engagements that the soldiers will carry out before returning to their barracks in Edinburgh next week.
Food and Fiddle Fortnight is an annual celebration of the area’s culinary and cultural talents and heritage.
Moira Gash, Visit Royal Deeside project coordinator, said: “The Longest Reign is a wonderful piece of music and a fantastic way to commemorate Her Majesty’s achievement.
“It is very fitting that the world public premiere of the tune will take place on Royal Deeside, an area held in great affection by The Queen and her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, the length of whose reign she surpassed.”