Prince Charles was joined by a dozen schoolchildren yesterday for a service at the most northerly church on the Scottish mainland.
The Duke of Rothesay, as he is known in Scotland, brought the usual supply of Christmas cake to Canisbay Kirk, a tradition started by his grandmother, before children from nearby Crossroads primary school sung him two hymns with their own added twist.
On Saturday, the duke spent his time enjoying the Mey Highland Games, which, for the second consecutive year, was held seven miles away in John o’ Groats because the Mey field was waterlogged.
As chieftain of the games, the duke has attended every year since the death in 2002 of the Queen Mother, who never missed a single event after buying the Castle of Mey in 1952.
About 500 people attended, with spectators travelling from as far afield as Canada, Brazil and New Zealand, to enjoy the usual array of tartan, caber-tossing and tug of war.
Mey Games chairman Val Ashpool said: “It was a very successful games and he [the Duke] seemed happy with what went on.
“He did find the dressage display amusing. We had a children’s wooden horse head on a stick and a complete dressage display and that went down very well.
“Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the occasion, it all seemed very relaxed and we were lucky with the weather”.
Canisbay Kirk Minister Lyall Rennie added: “It was a normal service, but we also had the children from Crossroads primary school which is the nearest school to Castle of Mey, and so they came along and they did a couple of songs for him.
“One of the songs was called He has got the whole world in his hands, and the children added an extra verse
“This went: He has got Dear Prince Charles in his hands. He was quite pleased with that.
“We have the prince here every year and it’s always good when he comes along. He is really very pleasant and chats to everyone involved.”