A “last-minute diary change” meant King Charles unveiled a plaque featuring the wrong date in Deeside this week.
The monarch was in Aberdeenshire to open a new crossing replacing the 271-year-old Gairnshiel Bridge.
It has emerged that the panel was created in anticipation of the event taking place the following day.
Eager to still ensure a “worthy celebration”, the council opted to go ahead with the event despite the inconsistency.
And officials have confirmed that, due to the “cost implications”, it won’t be replaced.
Construction on the Gairnshiel Jubilee Bridge began in 2022 to commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
The project cost nearly £4m, with King Charles officially opening the new bridge on Thursday, October 5.
The King is currently residing at Balmoral for the summer and has been spending time out and about in the north-east.
In the past few days, he’s visited an Aboyne sawmill and helped operate an underwater robot in Westhill… With so much going on, his schedule can be hard to manage.
At the opening ceremony, the King unveiled a plaque, which read: “Gairnshiel Jubilee Bridge to commemorate HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
“Opened by HM King Charles III on 6th October 2023.”
King Charles unveiled the plaque in honour of his late mother
While the plaque sits proudly on the siding of the bridge, keen observers have pointed out that the date of the unveiling is incorrect.
King Charles officially opened the bridge on October 5, not October 6 as stated on the plaque.
Why was the date wrong?
Aberdeenshire Council noted that due plaque had the wrong date due to a “last-minute diary change”.
A spokesman said: “To accommodate a last-minute change in diaries, the date for opening the Gairnshiel Jubilee Bridge was brought forward by one day to ensure a worthy celebration of this important investment.
“The plaque was produced in advance of the opening and, as a result of cost implications, will not be replaced.”
It’s not the first time a plaque unveiled by King Charles has hit the headlines.
Back in July, whilst in Wales he was due to unveil a plaque at the Theatr Brycheiniog, a cultural hub in the Brecon, when a gust of wind beat him to it leading to laughter from the monarch and those present.
Gairnshiel Jubilee Bridge is the newest crossing along the A939 Tomintoul to Ballater road and replaces the old bridge, deemed unsuitable for modern-day traffic.
The “faithful old servant” will be retained for use by pedestrians and cyclists.
Read about the King’s recent visit to the Aboyne sawmill here.
And we also covered his recent trip to the Global Underwater Hub in Westhill.
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